Josh Brolin has revealed James Cameron’s shocked reaction when he turned down a role in Avatar sequel The Way of Water.
The Men In Black III star, 56, explained how he refused to appear as a new character in the 2022 box office hit – 13 years after director Cameron’s original film became the highest-grossing film in history.
During a recent chat with Graham Bensinger on the In Depth podcast, Brolin said Oscar winner Cameron, 70, was “angry” about refusing to join the cast.
He said: ‘I heard he was angry. I understand, because when you have something in your mind and you have a status and a power… you are used to people feeling very grateful that you offer it to them.
‘I don’t know if that was the case with him, because I don’t know him well enough. But it was based on the project, not him.”
Brolin declined to comment on the exact reason he turned down the sequel.
Josh Brolin has revealed James Cameron’s shocked reaction when he turned down a role in Avatar sequel The Way of Water
The Men In Black III star, 56, explained how he had declined to appear as a new character in the 2022 box office hit – 13 years after director Cameron’s original film became the highest-grossing film in history
Avatar: The Way of Water – starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang and Kate Winslet – became the third highest-grossing film of all time with a whopping $2.320 billion at the box office.
A sequel, Avatar: Fire & Ash, is scheduled for release on December 19, 2025.
The original Avatar’s path to box office history was unusual, with most top-grossing films achieving this with stellar opening weekends.
In 2009, the opening weekend box office record was held by The Dark Knight, which opened to $158.4 million in mid-July 2008, topping out at $533.3 million domestically and just over $1 billion worldwide .
Avatar’s ($2.92 billion) success was largely due to consistent ratings at levels rarely seen at the box office, allowing it to hold the top spot for eight weeks in a row.
Avatar: The Way of Water saw Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and his partner Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) take their family to another Na’vi tribe who live on the coast and spend most of their time in the ocean. Cameron used underwater photography to create the stunning images.
Cameron said of the 2025 sequel: ‘The fire will be represented by the ‘Ash People’.
Avatar: The Way of Water – starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang and Kate Winslet – became the third highest-grossing film of all time with a whopping $2.320 billion at the box office
During a recent chat with Graham Bensinger on the In Depth podcast, Brolin said Oscar winner Cameron, 70, was “angry” for refusing to join the cast
Cameron is pictured with Avatar: The Way of Water, cast Kate Winslet, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana and Sam Worthington
Brolin recently starred in Dune: Part Two – pictured with Timothee Chalamet
‘I want to show the Na’vi from a different angle, because so far I have only shown their good sides.
“In the early films there are very negative human examples and very positive Na’vi examples. In Avatar 3 we do the opposite.
“We will also explore new worlds as we continue the story of the main characters,” he said. ‘I can say that the last parts will be the best. The others were an introduction, a way to set the table before the meal was served.”