The director stated that the actor was never offered the role of Jake Sully, and negotiations did not reach an official offer.
After a recent interview with Matt Damon, in which he claimed that he was allegedly offered the lead role in 'Avatar', the franchise's director James Cameron decided to clarify the situation. In a new interview, Cameron stated that there were never any discussions about Damon playing Jake Sully.
"He was never invited for this role," the director emphasized. "I don’t remember exactly if I sent him the script or not — it seems not. We spoke on the phone, and he said, 'I would love to work with you, but right now I need to shoot a film about Jason Bourne. I already have a commitment, it’s a direct conflict of interest, so I have to decline.'"
Cameron clarified that no official offers or deals for the role of Jake Sully were ever discussed: "We never got to that level."
Recall that in 2019, Damon claimed in an interview with British GQ that he was offered 10% of 'Avatar's' profits if he agreed to the lead role. Since the film ultimately grossed around $2.79 billion, the actor presumably lost about $250 million. According to Cameron, negotiations did indeed take place, but it never reached a concrete offer or discussion of the role.
