James Cameron makes a very clear point before Avatar: Fire and Ash: Not a single image from the upcoming sequel uses generative AI.
The director, who has spent decades pushing performance capture technology to new heights, said he felt the need to speak out so audiences wouldn’t confuse his work with the growing trend of AI-generated footage.
“I’m not negative about generative AI,” Cameron explained in an interview with ComicBook.com.
What he wanted people to understand is that the Avatar films are built on real human performances and not digital shortcuts. He added: “We honor and celebrate actors. We don’t replace actors.”
Cameron said his concern was not about AI tools being used creatively, but rather the “existential threat of big AI,” noting that Hollywood would eventually “find its way through this” by policing itself.
For him, protecting actors’ place in the filmmaking process is essential, especially in a franchise that relies so heavily on their physical and emotional labor.
The cast has also made this point for a long time.
Zoe Saldaña, who plays Neytiri, recently spoke about the level of commitment needed to bring Pandora’s characters to life.
She described performance capture as “the most challenging form of acting” because it allows actors to “own 100% of our on-screen performance.”
She reminded fans that Avatar exists because the actors themselves did the work, saying it wouldn’t be possible without “Sigourney Weaver, Sam Worthington, Stephen Lang, Kate Winslet, myself and the entire cast” wearing facial markers and diving into rigorous training.
From archery and martial arts to freediving, scuba diving, learning a created language, and studying movement with gymnasts and acrobats, the cast fully engaged in the world Cameron imagined.
“It’s all us,” she said, also praising the stunt team.
With Cameron’s technology, she added, “it gives the artist the power of complete ownership.”
As anticipation builds for the third installment, Cameron’s stance doubles down on what has always defined Avatar: human emotion at the heart of avant-garde cinema.
