Tuhia he haere tonu mo tenei rarangi - I hiahia hoki a James Cameron ki te whakahaere i tetahi mahi hou (mai i te 1997), engari i whakatau ia ki te whakapau kaha ki tana kaupapa "Avatar". I tuwhera tonu ia ki te whakaaro ki te whakaputa i tetahi ahuatanga i runga i tana ake tuhinga, ana i te 2007, i kii a 20th Century Fox kua tiimata te mahi i mua i te kaupapa. I whakaae a Roland Emmerich ki te whakahaere, engari i paopao ki te tuhinga i tuhia e Cameron. I utua a Marianne rāua ko Cormac Wibberley ki te tuhi i tētahi tuhinga hou, engari i te 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike
i whakaroa te kiriata, ā, ka tīmata a Emmerich ki te mahi i te "2012".