James Cameron has ideas for a 6th and 7th 'Avatar' movie, but says he might 'have to train somebody' else to make them

• "Avatar" director James Cameron has ideas for a sixth and seventh movie.
• There are already four sequels planned, including "The Way of Water," which debuts December 16.

"Avatar: The Way of Water" hits theaters in just a few weeks, 13 years after the first movie defied expectations and became the biggest movie of all time.

It's one of four planned sequels to be released, starting this year and going through 2024, 2026, and 2028. But Cameron has ideas for a sixth and seventh movie if audiences want more, according to a Hollywood Reporter profile published on Wednesday.

Cameron, who's 68, joked that he'd "be 89 by then." But he recognizes that the "Avatar" movies are a massive commitment and that he might have to pass the torch.

"Obviously, I'm not going to be able to make 'Avatar' movies indefinitely, the amount of energy required," Cameron told THR. "I would have to train somebody how to do this because, I don't care how smart you are as a director, you don't know how to do this."

Cameron had previously said he'd even be open to someone else directing the fourth and fifth movies, though.

"The Avatar films themselves are kind of all-consuming," Cameron told Empire Magazine in April. "I've got some other things I'm developing as well that are exciting. I think eventually over time — I don't know if that's after three or after four — I'll want to pass the baton to a director that I trust to take over, so I can go do some other stuff that I'm also interested in. Or maybe not. I don't know."

Of course, the future of the franchise could be determined by the success of "Way of Water," which Cameron also recognizes. Cameron expects the third film to be released either way because, according to THR, Disney has already invested $100 million into it.

"We'll probably finish movie three regardless because it's all shot," Cameron told THR. "We'd have to really crater for it not to seem like it was worth the additional investment. We'd have to leave a smoking hole in the ground. Now, hopefully, we get to tell the whole thing because five's better than four, four's better than three, and three's better than two."

"The Way of Water" cost $350 million to produce, according to THR, before marketing and other expenses. Cameron recently suggested that the movie would have to earn at least $2 billion worldwide to get its money back, after accounting for the cut theaters take.

"You have to be the third or fourth highest-grossing film in history," Cameron told GQ. "That's your threshold. That's your break even."