Avatar (franchise)

Avatar is an American media franchise created by James Cameron. It centers on a series of epic science fiction films produced by Lightstorm Entertainment and distributed by 20th Century Studios, and consists of associated merchandise, video games, and theme park attractions. Avatar is set in the mid-22nd century on Pandora, a lush habitable moon of a gas giant in the Alpha Centauri star system. The film's central conflict is between the indigenous Na'vi led by Jake Sully and Neytiri, and humans led by Colonel Miles Quaritch from the Resources Development Administration (RDA), a megacorp which has arrived on Pandora to colonize and pillage it for its natural resources. The title of the series refers to the genetically engineered Na'vi body operated from the brain that humans pilot to interact with on Pandora.

The first installment, Avatar, was released on December 18, 2009, and is the highest grossing film of all-time. The second installment, The Way of Water, was released on December 16, 2022. The planned sequel series was announced by 20th Century Fox on December 11, 2009, one week before Avatar was released to theaters. 20th Century Fox had confirmed the series on January 15, 2010. The Avatar franchise is one of the most expensive franchises undertaken, with the combined budget of the first film and its four sequels estimated at $1 billion. The franchise has grossed over $5.2 billion worldwide; it is the 14th-highest-grossing film series of all time.

Like the original film, the four sequels have "fully encapsulated" stand-alone plots that "come to their own conclusions". The four films have an overarching meta-narrative that connects them to create a large interconnected saga. Cameron described the sequels as "a natural extension of all the themes, and the characters, and the spiritual undercurrents" of the first film.