James Cameron Will Take on Best-Selling Novel ‘The Devils’ Following ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’

After Avatar: Fire and Ash, James Cameron will venture out of Pandora. The acclaimed filmmaker took to Facebook today to announce that his company, Lightstorm Entertainment, had acquired the rights to Joe Abercrombie’s recently released dark fantasy, The Devils. Cameron will co-write a screen adaptation alongside Abercrombie. This marks a significant pivot for Cameron, as the Avatar saga will continue with two more planned sequels following Fire and Ash, which are scheduled for releases in 2029 and 2031.

The Devils will follow Cameron’s third anticipated Avatar feature, which will land in theaters in December. According to the dark fantasy novel’s description, The Devils follows Brother Diaz, who “has been summoned to the Sacred City, where he is certain a commendation and grand holy assignment awaits him. But his new flock is made up of unrepentant murderers, and outright monsters. The mission he is tasked with will require bloody measures from them all in order to achieve its righteous ends.” The Devils achieved quick success following its release last month: the novel landed at number 5 on the New York Times Best Sellers List and secured the number 1 spot in the UK on the Sunday Times bestseller list.

Through a statement shared on his Facebook, Cameron disclosed what captured his interest in The Devils:

“How do I describe ‘The Devils?’ A sharply witty horror adventure? An epic battle between good and evil except most of the time you can’t tell which is which? A twisted, stylish, alt-universe middle-ages romp, where your best hope of survival is the monsters themselves? This is Joe Abercrombie in absolute peak form, opening up a whole new world and an ensemble of delicious new characters.

The twists and turns come at a rollercoaster pace, and with Joe’s signature acerbic wit and style. ‘The Devils’ showcases Joe’s jaundiced view of human nature, in all its dark, selfish glory, as told through some decidedly un-human characters. But of course, Joe always teases with the flickers of redemption that make it all worthwhile — and ultimately quite heart-wrenching.”

Beyond ‘Avatar’: James Cameron Teams With Joe Abercrombie

20th Century Studios

Abercrombie is a well-known name in the fantasy genre, notably for his work on the First Law trilogy, the Age of Madness trilogy, and novels such as Best Served Cold. He also wrote several episodes for Netflix’s popular anthology Love, Death & Robots and contributed as a writer to Eli Roth’s film adaptation of Borderlands.

In his statement, Cameron expressed that he was eager to work alongside Abercrombie:

“I’m looking forward to the writing process with him, though I’m certain this adaptation will practically write itself because Joe writes very visually, almost in scenes, and with a very cinematic structure. I can’t wait to dig into this as I wind down on ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash.’ It will be a joyful new challenge for me to bring these indelible characters to life.”

Speaking about Cameron, Abercrombie shared that he “can’t think of anyone better to bring this weird and wonderful monster of a book to the screen.”

This acquisition of The Devils is not the only non-Avatar project on Cameron’s horizon. Late last year, he also acquired the rights to Charles R. Pellegrino’s upcoming Ghosts of Hiroshima, which he is also set to adapt for the big screen.

Avatar: Fire and Ash, which is slated for a December 19, 2025 release, has earned rave reviews from early audiences, including Disney CEO Bob Iger.

Source: Facebook