James Cameron says he wants two cuts of Avatar 2 for theatres and streaming

James Cameron said he wants to present two different versions of his upcoming Avatar sequel depending on which medium the film is released on. 

In a 'Directors on Directors' segment for Variety, Cameron spoke about this and more with Dune filmmaker Denis Villeneuve. The two discussed Cameron's take on streaming platforms, a medium that has received much criticism for altering the cinematic experience by the older generation of filmmakers. 

Cameron told Villeneuve that he would like to use OTT (over-the-top) platforms in ways that "haven't been done before." One of the ways he would do so is to have a two-and-a-half-hour cut play in theatres and release a longer, six-hour cut for streaming.

"I think what we can see is an expanded form of cinema. I want to do a movie that’s six hours long and two and a half hours long at the same time. Same movie. You can stream it for six hours, or you can go and have a more condensed, roller coaster, immersive version of that experience in a movie theatre. Same movie. Just, one’s the novel, and one’s the movie. Why not? Let’s just use these platforms in ways that haven’t been done before," said Cameron. 

The filmmaker, known for larger-than-life films like Titanic, recently spoke about worrying whether his upcoming sequel will generate a lot of returns, especially in the time of COVID-19. He told Entertainment Weekly that he's sceptical whether the box office numbers in the post-pandemic world will ever match up to those of the past.