James Cameron reveals he edited out 10 minutes of Avatar: The Way of Water to avoid fetishising guns

James Cameron said in a recent interview that he probably wouldn't make the Terminator movies in the current climate.

A still from Avatar: The Way of Water trailer

Listen to this article

00:00

1x 1.5x 1.8x

Director James Cameron, in a recent interview with Esquire Middle East, revealed that he edited out 10 minutes of Avatar: The Way of Water as he wanted to avoid glorifying gun violence. The filmmaker also reflected on his previous films, and said that he wouldn’t make those movies in the current political climate.

He said, “I actually cut about 10 minutes of the movie targeting gunplay action. I wanted to get rid of some of the ugliness, to find a balance between light and dark. You have to have conflict, of course. Violence and action are the same thing, depending on how you look at it. This is the dilemma of every action filmmaker, and I’m known as an action filmmaker.”

Apart from the Terminator series, even his 1994 film True Lies features guns. The director said that he finds this problematic now. He said, “I look back on some films that I’ve made, and I don’t know if I would want to make that film now. I don’t know if I would want to fetishize the gun, like I did on a couple of Terminator movies 30+ years ago, in our current world. What’s happening with guns in our society turns my stomach.” Gun violence is a contentious topic in the USA.

Story continues below this ad

Avatar: The Way of Water has turned out to be a huge box office success. In India, the film has surpassed the box office collections of domestic releases of every Bollywood and Tamil film this year. The film is currently the third-highest grosser in India behind KGF: Chapter 2 and RRR.

ALSO READ | Avatar The Way Of Water movie review: James Cameron takes immersive to another dazzling level

Starring Sam Worthington, Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, and others, Avatar: The Way of Water takes the audience back to Pandora, where the heroes Jake Sully and Neytiri are faced with a new threat.

Click here to follow Screen Digital on YouTube and stay updated with the latest from the world of cinema.

External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar speaking on the 80th anniversary of the United Nations (X/@DrSJaishankar)

Jaishankar says UN ‘visibly gridlocked’ as Pak shields terror outfit linked to Pahalgam

India7 min ago

India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar criticizes Pakistan for sheltering terrorists at the UN Security Council, highlighting the gridlocked state and polarized debates of the organization. He questions the credibility of multilateralism, citing Pakistan's attempt to block the naming of a terror outfit.

View all shorts

More Entertainment

Entertainment 'Amitabh Bachchan will shout at people?': Piyush Pandey created Big B's 'angry old man' image for India's most effective ad campaign, actor did it for free