James Cameron Compares AVATAR's Na'vi VFX To Marvel's Thanos: "It's Not Even Close"

James Cameron Compares AVATAR's Na'vi VFX To Marvel's Thanos: "It's Not Even Close"

Avatar: The Way of Water director James Cameron has never been shy about sharing his opinions on Marvel and superhero movies in general, and the legendary filmmaker has now taken a little dig at Thanos.

By MarkCassidy - Dec 09, 2022 03:12 PM EST
Filed Under: Avatar

Only James Cameron could begin an interview by promising not to diss the Marvel or DC Universes, and proceed to do that very thing a few seconds later!

The Avatar: The Way of Water director was speaking to ComicBook.com about his upcoming sequel, when he was asked a question about the VFX used to bring the Na'vi to life on screen and whether any of the technical wizardry we see in Marvel films (and the comic book movie world) have motivated him to "raise the bar."

“Our team at WETA Digital is constantly having new hires, and it’s coming out of that pool,” Cameron began. “So it improves everything. That said, WETA Effects, as it’s called now, is the best. Right? Industrial Light & Magic does great work, but when it comes to the kind of emotive facial stuff that we’re doing… Thanos? Come on. Give me a break. You saw [‘Avatar: The Way of Water’]. It’s not even close. It’s what WETA did.”

In all fairness, that question must have been like a red rag to a bull for a guy like Cameron, so we're not remotely surprised by his response.

Is he right? Well, this is obviously just his personal opinion, but as impressive a creation as Josh Brolin's Mad Titan was in the last two Avengers movies, we're sure many would agree that the original Avatar still holds up as one of the most visually astounding films of the past few decades - so we can only imagine what the sequel holds in store.

The social media reactions to The Way of Water have been highly positive, but that was to be expected. The full review embargo lifts next Tuesday, so we should get a better idea of what to expect when critics are able to share more in-depth takes on the sequel.

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SonOfAGif
SonOfAGif - 12/9/2022, 3:32 PM
He's very intimidated that Marvel can make a talking Raccoon a household name without attaching his name to it.
kylo0607
kylo0607 - 12/9/2022, 3:34 PM
Apples and oranges.

It doesn't need to be close.

Thanos still had incredible CGI:

soberchimera
soberchimera - 12/9/2022, 3:52 PM
@kylo0607 - Imagine if that level of attention and detail went into She-Hulk...
FilmGuy7878
FilmGuy7878 - 12/9/2022, 3:36 PM
To be honest, the first film looks way better in comparison then some of the shots in Way of Water. And these directors taking shots at CBMs is kind of superficial considering James Cameron was going to make an X-Men AND Spider-Man in the 90s and Quinten Tarantino was planning to make a Luke Cage film starring Lawrence Fishburne around the same time.
The1st
The1st - 12/9/2022, 5:05 PM
@FilmGuy7878 - I think it's less about the genre and more about the formula they don't like. It's not for them, and that's fine...but, why bash it?
DalekCraigWasson
DalekCraigWasson - 12/9/2022, 6:24 PM
@FilmGuy7878 - Tarantino says in every "anti-Marvel" interview that he adores Marvel Comics and if the MCU had come out when he was in his 20s, he would be obsessed with it.
Steel86
Steel86 - 12/10/2022, 1:53 AM
@DalekCraigWasson - Yep its more about the Marvelization of Hollywood and movies. My brother and I talk about it all the time. There us to be summer blockbusters but now its Marvel and if Tom Cruise has something coming out.
ossie85
ossie85 - 12/9/2022, 3:36 PM
If Marvel spent 13 years between each film, I'd sure they'd have better CGI
MasterMix
MasterMix - 12/9/2022, 3:36 PM
Why can't we let 2 fine achievements co-exist without the constant comparison?
grif
grif - 12/9/2022, 3:36 PM
its fine james. just keep going
ShimmyShimmyYA
ShimmyShimmyYA - 12/9/2022, 3:38 PM
Is everything with this guy a dick measuring contest between he and marvel?
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