James Cameron makes one point very clearly ahead Avatar: Fire and Ashes: not a single image of the upcoming sequel uses generative AI.
The director, who has spent decades pushing performance capture technology to new heights, said he felt the need to speak out so audiences wouldn’t confuse his work with the growing trend of AI-generated imagery.
“I’m not negative about generative AI,” Cameron explained in an interview with ComicBook.com.
What he wanted people to understand is that the Avatar movies are built on real human performance, not digital shortcuts. He added, “We honor and celebrate actors. We don’t replace actors.”
Cameron said his concern is not with AI tools used creatively, but with the “existential threat of big AI,” noting that Hollywood will eventually “find our way through it” by self-policing.
To him, it’s important to protect the actors’ place in the filmmaking process, especially in a franchise that depends so much on their physical and emotional labor.
The cast has long emphasized this point as well.
Zoe Saldaña, who plays Neytiri, recently opened up about the level of commitment it takes to bring Pandora’s characters to life.
She described performance capture as “the most empowering form of acting” because it allows the actors to “own 100 percent of our performance on screen.”
She reminded fans of that Avatar exists because the actors themselves did the work, saying it wouldn’t be possible without “Sigourney Weaver, Sam Worthington, Stephen Lang, Kate Winslet, myself and the entire cast” fitting facial markers and diving into rigorous training.
From archery and martial arts to free diving, scuba, learning a created language and studying movement with gymnasts and acrobats, the cast fully engaged in the world Cameron imagined.
“It’s all of us,” she said, also praising the stunt team.
With Cameron’s technology, she added, he “gives the artist the power of complete ownership.”
As anticipation grows for the third installment, Cameron’s take on what has always defined is doubling down Avatar: human emotions at the heart of groundbreaking filmmaking.
