James Cameron Reacts to Avatar Almost Starring Matt Damon

James Cameron on BBC Radio

James Cameron Reacts to Avatar Almost Starring Matt Damon

The history of Hollywood is filled with hypotheticals and what-ifs. Scores of actors turned down famous roles to work on other projects. Avatar director James Cameron recently sat down with BBC Radio 1 to discuss Avatar: The Way of Water. In the interview, Cameron discusses the filmโ€™s many technological and cinematic challenges and triumphs. In the middle of the segment, the interviewer turns to Cameron and asks, โ€œWhen was the last time you had a conversation with Matt Damon?โ€

This question is in reference to Damon turning down the role of Jake Sully for the first Avatar film. Damon was offered the role and 10% of the filmโ€™s earnings in perpetuity, which he declined due to his work on the Bourne franchise. Damon has publicly mentioned this regret, most notably at a Cannes Master Class in 2021.

Related: โ€˜Avatar 2โ€™ Makes a Splash at the Box Office Earning $135 Million Over Opening Weekend

Jason Bourne

At the time Damon didnโ€™t want to leave the Bourne franchise in the lurch and chose instead to stick out his commitment to those films and that character, having turned down perhaps the biggest Hollywood payday of all time. In the interview with BBC, Cameron spoke again of Damonโ€™s choice by saying, โ€œโ€ฆheโ€™s beating himself up over this and I really think you know Matt you know, youโ€™re one of the biggest movie stars in the world, get over itโ€ฆโ€


Related: Avatar The Way of Water: Spoiler-Free Review

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Cameron hasnโ€™t ruled out working with Damon on Pandora in the near future. The interviewer pressed, โ€œIf I crossed my fingers, could we have a Matt Damon cameo, just at the very endโ€ฆโ€ Cameron replied, โ€ฆโ€Must do it, have to do it, so that the world is in equilibrium again, but he doesnโ€™t get 10%, fโ€” that.โ€

Cameron and Jon Landau have given Matt Damon plenty of opportunity to join the world of Pandora with three more films written. You can however see the latest film, sans Matt Damon as Avatar: The Way of Water is now in theaters worldwide.

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Podcasting on Chip and Company Podcast Network. Northeast USA Entertainment and Events media correspondent. Covering Broadway, conventions, film, and television.
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