Will Disney *ruin* Avatar? (if so, how?)

[Kaltxì Palulukan!]

 

Okay, a bit clickbait, but a serious question, warranting serious discussion. First a few rules: (well, one only). "Of course we are going to pay full price for tickets to EVERY Avatar movie JC makes, and we are here because we love the movie and the world (although some of us seem to love the Colonel). But Disney "took Marvel in a different direction." And they "took Star Wars in a different direction." Amazon has taken liberties with LoTR. I, for one, believe in the power and wisdom of the almighty JC. I think JC can withstand the barbarian mouse(s) at the gate.

But, if we consider this thread a safe space, or a container where we can keep any fears or concerns from spreading to other threads, can we get along well enough to voice our, and hear other people's concerns? I believe Avatar (chapter two, for lack of a better term at the moment, even though I believe it if subtitled the shape of water) will be "just fine," and that at least the next two or three will also be "just fine."

Admittedly I have forcibly kept myself ignorant of plot details, casting choices, shooting locations, and anything else that can spoil the complete surprise for me. When I first walked into the movie theater on December 18th (opening day), I said to myself "it's my birthday and I am off work. I am going to treat myself to a movie." Avatar was playing, but it was not at all the most popular movie that day (at least in San Diego). I walked out feeling as if I had just met the family I should have been born into. Within a few days I found this place, and our discussions were legendary. We even started a few podcasts, made some art, and wrote a book or two along the way. So, I would like to re-experience that sense of wonder, without too much advance notice of what "certainly will" happen in the next movie. But I think testing our prognostication abilities (re: "the Mouse") might be an interesting exercise. I hope I am not off the mark on this.

So, starting us off, but I do want to hear (or read) your thoughts, I believe JC will hold his own for a while. I think Disney will flood the market with cheap action figures and princess bedsheets (a'la Disney Princess or Finding Nemo style appeal). I even expect some animation project. I don't know. Am I being too pessimistic already? I hope Disney doesn't cause the split in the fandom like they did with the Star Wars and MCU franchises. I want to believe, even if my Na'vi is a bit rusty (okay, I have forgotten nearly every phrase in the book, but there is more to Pandora than the sounds and syllables of expression. Besides, palulukans roar. We don't really have a huge vocabulary.

But we do have one hell of a bite. See you in the forums!

KP 

[archaic]

Kaltxì ma 'eylan!
Great to see you back, and wow, it's been a while!!! 
Yep, Neytiri is now a Disney princess.


I think Cameron will hold his own against most of that, plus I suspect that a post Star Wars fiasco Disney might be a little less pushy too. I would certainly hope so!
Yes, there will be a lot of merchandising, even Avatar Lego.
I suspect we will get a few things specifically to appeal to the Chinese market.
I wouldn't be surprised if a mouse logo is placed somewhere discretely on screen.
We should expect a few things to creep in that are solely there to make appealing/profitable merchandise.
I just hope and pray they have learned their lesson from The Rise of Skywalker.


Edit: Spelling, surprisingly!!!

[Toliman]

Yes, there will be a lot of merchandising

Yeah, I wait for that

[jakesullyjr]

Not all merchandizing is bad though, and disney princess thing becoming more egaliterian isn't a bad thing;
Still I would be surprised if they don't find a wayt all be at this point the best way to protect against that is ablative armour approach.
The Executives need to bite of something even though they know it's bad for them so what you do is you throw candies from them away from the boat this gets the executives distracted.
the only down side is this requires a candy producing factory along side the full-course healthy vegan ethically sourced whole-food meals.
When ever the executives need to crash and burn the franchise you just throw of some peripheral thing one just made up for the sake of the executives grabbing hold of the franchise.

Even longtermism can be bulls*** though so lets just see where it takes us.