It seems that even though Avatar hasn’t quite hit cinemas yet (Movie Muser is seeing it on Friday, so expect a review early next week, once the embargo has been lifted), it seems James Cameron is already lining up a new movie. The news comes via a Production Weekly tweet that says, “James Cameron is developing a Shane Salerno-scripted sci-fi action script for Fox, described as an “event” film set in the future.”
However while he’s developing it, that doesn’t necesarily mean he’ll direct, particularly as he tends to like to filming things he’s written himself, so this could be something he’s only planning on producing. Salerno is the writer of Armageddon, Shaft and Alien Vs. Predator: Requiem. So what is this movie?
While some have speculated it’s Battla Angel Alita, which Cameron has been attached to for a while, that doesn’t sound quite right. More intriguing is that it may be Doomsday Protocol, a spec script Fox bought from Salerno last December, which THR described as an “epic science fiction adventure in the vein of The Seven Samurai involving a group of aliens and humans with various abilities who are brought together to save Earth.”
Now that sounds more like it, and also something Cameron might want to be involved with. Although it’s pure speculation, is Cameron is producing Doomsday, it would suggest that Fox is hoping to use the cameras and technology Cameron developed for Avatar on the new movie. However with The Terminator director normally taking years to make any decisions, don’t expect an official announcement on what he’s up to for a while yet.