James Cameron Says Avatar 2’s Motion Capture Is Much Better Than Marvel’s: ‘It’s Not Even Close’

Avatar: The Way of Water director James Cameron has said the sequel’s motion capture tech is much better than what is happening in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and that “it’s not even close.”

As reported by Variety, Cameron was speaking to ComicBook.com in a video interview when he asked the director if the advances the MCU has made in filmmaking has inspired him or encouraged him to reach higher.

“Obviously the big comic book films have been driving the sheer volume of the industry… the rising tide of technique raises everybody together,” Cameron said. “It gives you higher quality artists, more tools and plug-ins and code [to use]. You’ve got more talented people writing code out there.

“Our team at WETA Digital is constantly having new hires, and it’s coming out of that pool. So it improves everything. That said, WETA Effects, as it’s called now, is the best. Right? Industrial Light & Magic does great work, but when it comes to the kind of emotive facial stuff that we’re doing… Thanos? Come on. Give me a break. You saw [‘Avatar: The Way of Water’]. It’s not even close. It’s what WETA did.”

This isn’t the first time Cameron has compared Avatar to the MCU, as he previously said MCU and DC heroes “act like they’re in college” when it comes to relationships.

Avatar: The Way of Water will be released in theaters on December 16, 2022. For more, check out details on Cameron’s canceled Avatar sequel, why the director believes haters shut up when they rewatch the first film, and his comments on Avatar 2 needing to be the 3rd or 4th highest-grossing film of all time to make money.

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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.