One can’t help but feel somewhat peculiar when reading about James Cameron’s post-Avatar plans.
The next Avatar in the series probably won’t be in theaters until 2015, then there’s another sequel, and possibly a prequel. That’s all going to take up a lot of time, probably the rest of the decade, and it’s still only 2012.
However, Cameron’s long time producer Jon Landau was recently asked about Battle Angel, a Japanese magna that Cameron’s been looking at for a long time, and Landau assured the fans, “I am sure you will get to see Battle Angel. It is one of my favorite stories, a great story about a young woman’s journey to self-discovery…Now we focus on Avatar for the next four or five years. It will hopefully [be] right after that.”
Indeed, we may have to wait a little longer for Battle Angel, because it’s just been confirmed that Cameron has managed to clinch the rights to The Informationist, a novel written by Taylor Stevens. According to Deadline, it’s definitely on Cameron’s “to-direct list after he finishes the second and third Avatar sequels.” Apparently, Cameron and Landau will be looking for screenwriters to adapt the novel soon.
The Informationalist is about a woman named Vanessa Munroe, who is “an information specialist,” which apparently means she’s like a private investigator / detective. Munroe is hired to find a rich man’s daughter, who disappeared in Africa four years prior. Much like Jake Sully in Avatar, she winds up stranded and left for dead away from civilization, and this is clearly the kind of struggle Cameron loves for a strong female lead.
As Landau told Deadline, “We were drawn to this book because of the terrific, compelling narrative and the character, who typifies the strong female protagonists that have inhabited Jim’s work.” Landau also compared her to Lisbeth Salander (Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) and Jason Bourne. And Cameron added, “Vanessa Munroe is an intriguing and compelling heroine with an agile mind and a thirst for adventure. I’m looking forward to bringing Vanessa and her world to the big screen.”
But of course, first come the Avatar sequels, and if the first one isn’t ready until 2015, it may indeed be some time before we have some quintessential Cameron women kicking ass on the big screen again.
