According to reports, James Cameron has stated that he shares a similar worldview with Thanos, a major antagonist from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The latest release from James Cameron, “Avatar: The Way of Water,” has been a massive success, with global box office earnings surpassing $2.2 billion and the director personally earning $95 million.
During the recent promotion of his latest project, the filmmaker was inevitably asked about the numerous popular movies from Marvel.
The conversation took an unexpected turn when Cameron expressed his concurrence with his extreme beliefs about Thanos. To refresh the memory, the character played by Josh Brolin advocated for eradicating half of the universe’s population as the best solution for its existence.
James Cameron Agrees With Thanos
In a recent interview with Time magazine, James Cameron, the director of Avatar: The Way of Water, discussed the film’s CGI and revealed a personal connection he feels towards Josh Brolin’s portrayal of Thanos.
During the interview, Cameron mentioned that he finds Thanos’ solution to be quite feasible, which also aligns with his environmental activism.
“I can relate to Thanos… I thought he had a pretty viable answer. The problem is nobody is going to put up their hand to volunteer to be half that has to go.”
During an earlier interview with Variety, James Cameron acknowledged the contributions of Marvel Studios and other major VFX films, stating that “the improvement in techniques benefits the entire industry.”
While discussing the impact of big-budget comic book movies on the industry, Cameron credited them for driving its growth, as the advancement in techniques benefits everyone. The director further mentioned that this development leads to an increase in talented artists and more efficient tools and code. Despite this, Cameron dismissed any comparison between the CGI work on Avatar and Thanos, stating that Brolin’s villain was “not even in the same ballpark.”
“Our team at WETA Digital is constantly having new hires, and it’s coming out of that pool… “So it improves everything. That said, WETA Effects, as it’s called now, is the best. Right? Industrial Light & Magic does great work, but when it comes to the kind of emotive facial stuff that we’re doing… Thanos? Come on. Give me a break. You saw [‘Avatar: The Way of Water’]. It’s not even close. It’s what WETA did.”
Thanos’ Depopulation Plan
While the “Thanos was right” trend is often taken as a joke, Cameron appears to have found some credibility in it.
Cameron’s views align with his environmental and climate advocacy, which is not unexpected, given that these are fundamental themes of the Avatar franchise.
However, large-scale genocide is not typically part of this discussion. On the subject of VFX in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Cameron’s preference for his own team’s work is unsurprising, considering the relatively limited time frame most Marvel projects have compared to his over ten years of work on Avatar.
As James Cameron is currently focusing on the Avatar franchise, he has little reason to concern himself with Marvel or their VFX.
The upcoming third installment of the Avatar series will allow the filmmaker to showcase his technical expertise in a novel way, with the introduction of a new tribe of Na’Vi, led by Oona Chaplin, best known for her work in Game of Thrones as Talisa Stark.
Regrettably, the release of the third film is scheduled for December 20, 2024. In the meantime, audiences can catch Avatar: The Way of Water in theaters.
Also, read ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ Overtakes ‘Titanic’ as the Third-Highest Grossing Movie of All Time.
