John Oliver takes a swipe at James Cameron’s long-awaited 'Avatar' sequels

John Oliver has mocked James Cameron’s Avatar sequels during a monologue on his HBO chat show Last Week Tonight.

The British-born chat host started off discussing the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP26 currently underway in Glasgow and mentioned how the 2009 Climate Change Global Conference failed on its objective of having richer countries help pooper nations with climate change issues in the decade since.

Joking about how those issues are still being discussed to this day, Oliver said: “There are things it’s ok to take a decade on and not deliver on: the Avatar sequels, for instance.”

“Take your time on those, James Cameron. No one gives a s***…” he continued.

In an attempt to demonstrate how little audiences care about the movie franchise, he added: “I will give anyone in this audience $1,000 right now if they remember either of these characters’ names.”

Behind him was a picture of lead actors in the 2009 blockbuster: Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana who played Jake Sully and Neytiri respectively.

Both actors will reprise their roles in the upcoming four planned sequels, which have seen massive delays.

Read more: Matt Damon says his biggest career regret is turning down James Cameron's 'Avatar'

The first sequel, Avatar 2, began shooting in 2017 and was originally scheduled to release in 2018. It's now due to be released in 2022, 13 years after the release of the first movie.

The following three sequels have also shifted to holiday seasons of 2024, 2026 and 2028.

Much of the original cast are returning for these movies, including Stephen Lang, Sigourney Weaver and Giovanni Ribisi, while Kate Winslet is expected to star in a new role.

Read more: Winslet says James Cameron has changed a lot since 'Titanic'

Cameron has already finished shooting Avatar 2 and Avatar 3 — which he filmed back-to-back starting in September 2017 — as well as pieces of further sequels.

Speaking of the toll of such a huge production, Lang, who played the nefarious Colonel Miles Quaritch, told The National earlier this year: “I’ve given up trying to keep track.

“The whole thing gets a little confusing.”

Watch: James Cameron admits he regrets his tyrannical behaviour on set