Avatar filmmaker James Cameron has addressed claims he’s “cruel” on film sets.

In a new MasterClass on filmmaking, the director called himself a “tinpot dictator” and spoke to his reputation on film sets as a strong character.

• READ MORE: Avatar 2: Everything we know about the upcoming sci-fi epic

“[The director] does say that if he could go back and do one thing differently in his career, it would be to improve the nature of the working relationships he had with his cast and crew members,” wrote /Film in a report on the MasterClass.

“‘I could’ve listened more,’ he says. ‘I could’ve been less autocratic. I could’ve not made the movie more important than the human interaction of the crew.’”

Cameron went on to praise Ron Howard for his attitude with his cast and crew on set, saying he was “dumbfounded” about how complimentary the filmmaker was to his team.

“I aspire, even today, to try to be my inner Ron Howard,” he said.

Last year, James Cameron said the third Avatar film was “95 per cent complete” and that Avatar 2 had finished filming. 

The first sequel was initially due for release this December, but has been pushed back exactly a year due to the ongoing pandemic. Avatar 3, Avatar 4 and Avatar 5 are expected to follow in December 2024, December 2026 and December 2028 respectively.

Back in 2018, all the titles for the Avatar sequels were announced – Avatar 3 is set to be called Avatar: The Seed Bearer, while the second film in the franchise, due out in December 2022, is called Avatar: The Way of Water.