So 20th Century (or is it finally formally 21st Century -?) Fox officially announced with James Cameron, creator, shaper and influencer of so many great moments in film and pop culture history, it will begin production next year on THREE sequels to Avatar, targeted for release starting in 2016. To which I ask: why??

To be sure, I am no fan of Avatar by any measure, other than, frankly, the almost endless jokes and discussion it has provided, having found it incredibly derivative and boring, so I admit upfront I’m biased against the whole Avatar universe. But even if I just set-aside my personal dislike of Avatar (and this is no attack on the technical efforts and ability), I have to ask the bigger question: WHY go all-in for 3 more installments to a film that came out 4 years ago (and will be 7 years old when the first sequel debuts), on a property that, let’s face it, just didn’t really capture the public’s lasting imagination. Even for those I know who liked Avatar, there’s no on-going discussion, “want”, or anticipation. In fact, with hindsight, they seemed to have lost whatever it is they enjoyed when the film debuted. Avatar is not Harry Potter, a comic-book hero, James Bond, Jason Bourne, Star Trek or the grail of all installment franchises: Star Wars.

But therein may lie the reality: when the studio heads at 20th Century Fox looked at the score sheet at the end of 2012, they found Disney Studios fully loaded for bear with Star Wars (their former franchise crown jewel) and the Marvel-Avengers universe (billions and billions of dollars between the two franchises, literally), Warner Brothers maneuvering pieces for Man of Steel and a future Justice League project after concluding The Dark Knight Trilogy (billions more…), and Paramount about to offer up another Star Trek installment upon the already wildly successful Trek re-boot, with more Transformers on the horizon; it had to be hard for the 20th Century leaders to look at these other mega studios and not be genuinely concerned with the reality that the competition has a slew of major, cash generating, eye-popping, TOY SELLING, wildly successful franchises set up for years to come, without someone claiming: we gotta get something going!

So, it would seem it was that calculus that begat today’s announcement figuring, somehow, Avatar is just such a property to develop (sci-fi! Earthy! Heroes! (need a new) Villain! Toys!) Now, there may be, as Cameron has long maintained, more story to tell, but where the last few years have been witness to endless questions of what would happen to Kirk & Spock, or to the Avengers in their solo adventures and as a team (how many franchises are so mapped out and comprehensive they’re planned in PHASES -?!), or now, to the shock and amazement of so many, what will happen in the new Star Wars episodes, the clamor for MORE AVATAR just hasn’t been there.

Yes, Avatar is the most successful film in non-adjusted gross earnings, and that automatically means “more More MORE” in movie terms, but who is really keeping that flame alive among today’s movie audience? Instead of tripling down on a predictable story that drew itself to an obvious-from-a-mile-away ending (or whatever), developing new, less-expensive projects (because let’s face it, Avatar 2-4 will be mega-budget films), or even heavier investing in the comic-book properties 20th Century already has, would seem to be the better way to go.

For the benefit of those who will line up, and will likely have a Matrix 2 & 3 experience, here’s hoping the next installment (which, let’s be “real” here, would be the government laying complete devastation, since the natives have gone hostile, to the only planet in the universe with the still completely inane MacGuffin that is unobtanium), is less derivative of Cameron’s earlier, masterful work, as well as that of Star Wars, The Wizard of Oz, and a host of other classics.

At the very least, for the love of all, no dumbass mano-a-mech fight involving an unbelievably stupid mech-proportionate fighting-knife that took EVERYONE out of the moment (yeah, that STILL is a fucking joke)!