What happens if Avatar: Fire and Ash doesn’t make enough profit to convince Disney to bankroll Avatar 4 and 5? Creator James Cameron has said he’s ready to walk away from the franchise, adding he’ll write a book to resolve the one thread Avatar 3 leaves open.
I think that’s more of a reflection of the non-linear technological leaps rather than effort/creativity on the part of the filmmakers. No modern CGI films really wow me in the same way the big features from the 2000s did.