James Cameron Says ‘Avatar’ Team Had to ‘Step Up’ for ‘Fire and Ash’ After Jon Landau’s Death: ‘It Was a Blow’

James Cameron said the loss of his longtime collaborator, Jon Landau, was a “blow” to the “Avatar” team, confessing they had to “step up” to make “Avatar: Fire and Ash” a film the late producer would be proud.

The director addressed Landau’s death during Monday’s Los Angeles, Calif. premiere, which took place at the famed Dolby Theatre. After acknowledging the cast and crew for their dedicated work on the third “Avatar” movie, Cameron noted there “was one person conspicuously absent on this stage.”

“Jon fought so hard to stay with us and to stay part of the film,” Cameron shared with attendees at the premiere. “His spirit infuses all the ‘Avatar’ films. When he passed, it was a blow. It was a shock. And it was not lost on us that we were making a film about how humans process their loss and their grief.”

He continued: “I believe it sort of caused us to step up and rise to a higher level to make a film he would’ve been proud of. And so, that’s what we did.”

Landau, the Oscar-winning film producer who collaborated with Cameron on “Titanic” and both “Avatar” films, died July 5, 2024 after a battle against cancer. He was 63 years old.

“Jon was a visionary whose extraordinary talent and passion brought some of the most unforgettable stories to life on the big screen,” Disney Entertainment co-chair Alan Bergman said in a statement at the time. “His remarkable contributions to the film industry have left an indelible mark, and he will be profoundly missed. He was an iconic and successful producer yet an even better person and a true force of nature who inspired all around him.”

Cameron expressed a similar sentiment in a lengthy tribute, praising Landau as “a great producer and a great human being.”

“Jon Landau believed in the dream of cinema,” the filmmaker further noted. “He believed that a film is the ultimate human art form, and to make films you have to first be human yourself. He will be remembered as much for his vast generosity of spirit as for the movies themselves.”

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