It wasn’t a “snap decision”, says James Cameron about his plan to further explore the lush blue world of Pandora that he introduced in his blockbuster movie ‘Avatar’ with the sequel ‘The Way of Water’.

The filmmaker claimed that the 2009 film’s massive box office earnings (over USD 2 billion), set on a fictional moon inhabited by a native tribe known as the Navi, gave him access to the people’s hearts and minds.

” ‘We want more of this’ said people from all cultures around the world. That’s what people said later. ‘It was too short. I didn’t want to leave; I wanted to stay’.

“As an artist, I’ve already got an avenue right into the hearts and minds of people around the world,” PTI quoted the filmmaker as saying.

The filmmaker said he had to do a lot of introspection before making the sequel as well as further follow-ups, which are already in various stages of production.

“I had to think about it for a few years before I decided to go ahead. It wasn’t a snap decision or a no-brainer,” said he.

Cameron said he considers the commercial success of a project as a parameter to measure the appreciation his work has received.

“An artist tries to communicate with other people. You try to take something from within your perception of the world and you try to write it out for the world in some form — a novel, a painting, a dance, a music, or a movie,” he explained.

‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ also features Lang, Weaver, Giovanni Ribisi, and Dileep Rao, along with newcomers (in the sequel) Kate Winslet and Cliff Curtis.