Washington DC [US], January 6 (ANI): Filmmaker James Wan has said he would be open to directing 'Avatar 4' if franchise creator James Cameron decides to step aside or scale back his involvement in the billion-dollar series, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

In an interview, the 'Aquaman' director said he would be keen to take on the project should the opportunity arise. 'I have not done Avatar. Yeah, if you could put a good one for me with James Cameron, I'd love to take a crack at that,' Wan said.

Disney and Cameron have not yet officially confirmed whether a fourth Avatar film will be made. Cameron has also not finalised how directing duties would be handled if the franchise continues, as he has previously expressed interest in moving on to other projects.

Wan is widely known for his work in the horror genre, having directed the Saw, Insidious and The Conjuring franchises. He also joined the billion-dollar club by directing Aquaman in 2018, which earned over USD 1.15 billion worldwide. In addition to directing, Wan is a prolific producer with credits including M3GAN.

Cameron has earlier indicated that even if Avatar 4 moves forward, he would likely remain involved while delegating more day-to-day responsibilities to second unit directors. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Cameron said he has already begun expanding the second unit concept while working on Fire and Ash.

'I've learned how to expand the second unit concept,' Cameron said. 'For example, most directors don't operate their own camera, so when I've done the performance capture, I operate every damn virtual camera on the first movie. On the second film, I started to lay off some of that to [virtual second unit director] Richard Baneham and to other people. I can imagine laying off the entire thing when I've already set the stage for exactly how a scene plays out, and then I'll circle back around in editorial. So yeah, that's possible,' as quoted by The Hollywood Reporter.

The future of the franchise, Cameron has said, largely depends on the box office performance of Fire and Ash. While stopping short of setting a specific benchmark, he noted that the success of the film would determine whether the series continues.

Despite mixed critical reception, Fire and Ash has performed strongly at the box office. The film crossed the USD 1 billion mark globally within 18 days of release and continues to show sustained earnings, reinforcing the commercial strength of the Avatar franchise.

With Fire and Ash once again demonstrating the franchise's box office appeal, speculation around future instalments, including a possible Avatar 4, continues to grow. (ANI)