“Avatar” vs. “Avatar: Lord of the Elements”: Did James Cameron steal the title of the animated series?

In 2005, the animated series “Avatar: Lord of the Elements” started in the USA on Nickelodeon, and in this country it was ready at the beginning of 2006. In 2009, “Avatar” was released in cinemas and fans of Aang were annoyed that James Cameron was so bold and simply used the name of the series for his own purposes.

But it was actually completely different, as “Avatar: Lord of the Elements” director Giancarlo Volpe makes clear on X/Twitter. The production team found out in 2004 that James Cameron had secured the title “Avatar”, which is why the series could not only be called “Avatar”, but also the nickname “Lord of the Elements”, or “The Last Airbender” in the original, needed.

“Avatar” is for everyone

James Cameron’s film was released later, but the director had been working on the project since 1994 and therefore insisted on reserving the film’s title in time. It is therefore clear that both the film and the series came up with the idea of ​​using the title “Avatar” independently of each other.

Of course, since Cameron didn’t come up with the word “Avatar,” he couldn’t claim the term himself. Things are different with the Na’vi, the blue inhabitants of Pandora are Cameron’s creation and you would quickly hear from the director’s lawyers if you wanted to make money with your own Na’vi stories.

While the first live-action adaptation of Aang’s story in 2010 omitted the word “Avatar” in the title in order not to confuse viewers, the new Netflix adaptation adopted the title of the animated series.

James Cameron will likely be busy with the next “Avatar” sequels at least until 2028 – but probably longer – after which the “Terminator” creator may turn to new projects.