James Cameron has stated that both Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water act more as introductions for what's to come in the overarching story. Specifically, he has referred to the two films as "a way to set the table before serving the meal."
If it takes six hours to set the table for what's to come, I'm almost terrified to see how long the full meal is going to be. Speaking with 20 Minutes, Cameron also explained that it took so long to make the film due to him being involved in all aspects of it, from writing to the motion capture.
The director also spoke a bit about the "Ash people" mentioned for Avatar 3, stating that while so far we've seen very positive Na'Vi depictions accompanied with negative human portrayals, in the third film the roles could be reversed.
What do you think? Do you want Avatar to be as big of a franchise as it is likely going to be? Let us know.