James Cameron has officially acquired rights to Joe Abercrombie’s fantasy novel The Devils through his Lightstorm Entertainment banner. He plans to co-write the screenplay with Abercrombie after wrapping up Avatar: Fire and Ash (due December 2025).
Cameron described the book to IndieWire as “a sharply witty horror adventure” and “a twisted, stylish alt‑universe middle‑ages romp,” adding that “It’s nuts” and declaring the project as “a movie you do for fun”—a tonal departure from weighty work like Ghosts of Hiroshima.
What Is The Devils About?
The Devils follows Brother Diaz, a condemned former general recruited to lead a band of “devils”—monsters, heretics, and criminals—on a brutal campaign to repel flesh-eating elves threatening Europe. Along the way, the mission tests the moral boundaries between good and evil.
Cameron praised Abercrombie’s writing as intensely cinematic—“practically writing itself”—and said he feels The Devils offers a fresh, adrenaline-fueled storytelling palette.
With Avatar: Fire and Ash scheduled for December 2025 and Avatar 4 and 5 planned in the decade ahead, Cameron sees The Devils as a creative palate cleanser before returning to Pandora. While Ghosts of Hiroshima remains on his radar, Cameron is drawn to the high-energy fantasy of Abercrombie’s world.
Cameron’s flexibility is well-known—he previously handed off Alita: Battle Angel to Robert Rodriguez but remains closely involved creatively. With The Devils, he may take a more active writing/directing role depending on development needs.
James Cameron Sets To Make Horror Action Fantasy
A rare horror-action fantasy from Cameron, light on conscience but heavy on spectacle. A chance to explore new visual and narrative territory beyond Avatar’s lush sci-fi. Potential for collaboration with Abercrombie that preserves the novel’s dark humor and thematic complexity.
Scriptwriting: Cameron and Abercrombie are already set to collaborate on the screenplay immediately after Fire and Ash production concludes.
Directing Role: Cameron has not confirmed whether he’ll direct The Devils himself.
Production Timeline: No official release date yet; development is likely to progress during the post-Avatar 3 phase—possibly before Avatar 4 (2029).
The Devils marks a bold creative shift for Cameron—trading Pandora for a medieval, supernatural battleground filled with monsters and moral ambiguity. It’s a project he’s tackling with excitement and energy, and if all goes according to plan, it could become one of the most unexpected yet exhilarating entries in his filmography.