Second ‘Avatar’ Copied More Than Original, Writer’s Suit Says

James Cameron and Walt Disney Co. infringed a writer’s copyright with the 2022 blockbuster “Avatar: The Way of Water” after the director escaped litigation accusing him of ripping off a story with the first “Avatar” film, a federal lawsuit says.

Cameron and Disney tried to buy Eric Ryder’s rights to his science fiction story “KRZ” after beating his fraud and beach of contract claims in California state court, Ryder told the US District Court for the Central District of California in a complaint filed Monday. Ryder said even more “KRZ” material was infused into Cameron’s 2022 sequel, including “character architecture, ...