Stephen Johnson Stephen Johnson Senior Staff Writer Experience Stephen Johnson is a senior staff writer at Lifehacker covering pop culture and technology, including the columns “The Out-of-Touch Adults’ Guide to Kid Culture” and “What People Are Getting Wrong This Week.” Read Full Bio April 29, 2026 Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google Credit: Credit: Cole Kan/Lifehacker/The Walt Disney Company Table of Contents Since the release of the original Avatar in 2009, James Cameron’s epic interstellar franchise has taken over popular culture with the brute force of an RDA battalion invading a distant moon. It has grown from a single movie into an omni-franchise—a $10 billion entertainment ecosphere that includes three feature films, two AAA video games, seven primary comic book series, a Disney theme park, and even a Cirque du Soleil show.…