Frankenstein director Guillermo del Toro has seen Avatar 3 and knows where the franchise is “going”: “I think it’s going to surprise a lot of people”

Everyone knows how much of an avid Avatar fan legendary director Guillermo del Toro is, so much so that the Frankenstein filmmaker has seen Avatar 3, and has big praise for James Cameron’s threequel.

“I’ve seen the three Avatars. They are absolute masterpieces. I know where it’s going and I think it’s going to surprise a lot of people,” said del Toro in an interview with Konbini Video, aka France’s version of the Criterion Closet.

“I can’t say anything about [the third], but I can say there are very few Americans who have created an entire mythology,” said del Toro of Cameron. “You have [George] Lucas. You have the entire ‘Wizard of Oz’ mythology with Frank Baum. Jim is creating that with Avatar, and he’s going to take you places.”

Cameron’s Avatar 3, officially titled Avatar: Fire and Ash, will take fans back to Pandora, where Na’vi leader Jake Sully (SamWorthington), Na’vi warrior Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), and their family have been living with the Metkayina Clan after the events of Avatar: The Way of the Water. But when they encounter a new, aggressive Na’vi tribe called the Ash People, Sully meets his new antagonist, Varang, who has joined forces with his long-time enemy, Quaritch.

But the story won’t stop there, as Cameron has already started working on Avatar 4 and 5, which have already set release dates in 2029 and 2031. Avatar 3 also stars Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Oona Chaplin, Cliff Curtis, Joel David Moore, and more.

However, Cameron is not the only director to have built worlds this year, as del Toro’s newest movie, Frankenstein, breathes new life into Mary Shelley’s iconic novel. Del Toro’s take focuses on generational trauma, shame, and identity, whereas the novel tends to focus on ethics and morality.

Starring Oscar Isaac as the narcissistic and destructive Victor Frankenstein, the new movie retells the story of a creator and his monstrous creation, the Creature, played by Jacob Elordi. In an interview with GamesRadar+, Elordi said, “It definitely highlights the personal over the scientific… To me, it’s a biography of Guillermo’s.”

Avatar: Fire and Ash releases this December 19. In the meantime, check out our guide to all the most exciting upcoming movies of the year to fill out your watchlist.