Avatar 3 Producer Jon Landau Shoots Down Rumored Eyebrow Raising Subtitle
A movie's title is often the first piece of information that a potential audience member receives regarding a project, so studios want that crucial string of words to compel as many moviegoers as possible to want to buy tickets. What studios don't want is for a film to suffer from its name ... which is probably why director James Cameron's suggested title for "Avatar 3" is getting a very official and very public veto from producer Jon Landau.
According to Landau, Cameron toyed with the idea of calling his next adventure to Pandora "Avatar: The Seed Bearer." While it may or may not succinctly define what Cameron wants audiences to know about the franchise's third movie, the subtitle features a double entendre so disastrous that even "Saturday Night Live" might consider mocking it as low-hanging fruit.
During an interview with Comicbook.com, Landau said, "I'm qualified to tell you that that is not the title for 'Avatar 3.' That's what my Wikipedia page says? That is getting changed tonight!" Sure enough, the Wikipedia page for the film now includes Landau's statement debunking the rumor. As of this writing, "Avatar 3" remains without a subtitle and is set to release in 2025, where it will introduce a fire-centric branch of the Na'vi.
James Cameron stockpiles subtitles, apparently
In 2019, Cameron confirmed a report that claimed to possess a list of potential "Avatar" sequel titles. The list included "Avatar: The Way of Water," which went on to become the name of the second film, "Avatar: The Seed Bearer," which Jon Landau has now officially removed from the running, "Avatar: The Tulkun Rider," and "Avatar: The Quest for Eywa." Since "The Way of Water" features both the Tulkun, Pandora's hyper-intelligent space whale species, and a young Na'vi, Lo'ak (Britain Dalton), who bonds with them, "The Tulkun Rider" is still a viable subtitle for the "Avatar" franchise. However, the third film presumably takes place near the volcano that houses the Ash People, so it seems unlikely that the Tulkun will enjoy a high profile in the near future, though Cameron has already offered a deep dive into the relationship between the Na'vi and the Tulkun, so there's no question they will eventually come back.
Assuming that Cameron still intends to give "Avatar 3" one of the already confirmed subtitles, that leaves just "The Quest for Eywa" in the running. That said, as Eywa is the only known Na'vi deity, this feels more like an endgame title for either "Avatar 4" or "Avatar 5" rather than a plausible selection for the middle installment. "Avatar 3" is currently in post-production, as it was filmed back-to-back with "The Way of Water." No doubt, when Cameron is more confident in the project's progress, he will attach a subtitle ... hopefully one that doesn't call to mind middle school humor.