Josh Brolin says James Cameron had a surprisingly strong reaction when he turned down a role in Avatar.
“I heard he was angry,” the actor said during an appearance on In Depth with Graham Bensinger. “I understand it, because when you have something in your mind and you have a status and a power… you’re used to people feeling really grateful that you are offering it to them.”
Brolin didn’t reveal what the role was or why he turned it down, but added, “I don’t know if that’s the case with him because I don’t know him well enough. But it was based on the [project]. It wasn’t based on him.”
While Brolin may have decided to give Avatar a miss, he did end up joining another sci-fi franchise: Dune. He plays Gurney Halleck, House Atreides’ weapons master and a fierce ally of Timothée Chalamet’s Paul, in both of Denis Villeneuve’s adaptations of Frank Herbert’s novel.
As for Avatar, the first movie was released back in 2009 and a sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, followed in 2022. At least three more installments are also on the way, with Avatar 3 (officially titled Avatar: Fire and Ash) coming next year. The franchise’s cast includes Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, and Kate Winslet, with David Thewlis and Game of Thrones’ Oona Chaplin joining for round three.
Avatar: Fire and Ash hits the big screen on December 19, 2025. In the meantime, check out our guide to the best upcoming movies still to come in 2024.