I think one problem that will always exist is the budget costs. I'm sure some producer/writer has big dreams inside their heads of doing something never seen before, but getting a studio to listen and finance is another thing.
And two other seismic developments in the movie world since Avatar's release has changed the landscape profoundly in my opinion. The rise of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (and the shakier attempt by DC as well) has dominated theaters year after year, and I'd also add in Disney's domination with Star Wars. I know people have gotten mad at Scorsese lately for criticizing the Marvel films, but they kind of have muscled out the smaller and medium-budgeted films. They can still exist, but their chances of success are arguably much worse in this decade compared to 15-20 years ago.
The other major change in the industry has been the rise of Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime and (soon to be HBO MAX, Disney+, etc). Streaming services creating their own movies -- many of them award-winning -- have also stolen a huge chunk of the pie and become a source of competing entertainment. It's also why you see more experimental films on Netflix rather than the movie theaters -- less risk there. But if you're looking for a swath of big-budgeted, original sci-fi films or just original adventure/action films in general to hit movie theaters, we are not likely getting them. Studios are playing it safe with reboots, sequels and known franchise names. It's not a guarantee of success (see recent Dark Fate box office), but it's still (to them) safer than charging into the "unknown" with a $150-$180 million budget. A studio would still rather spend that on a reboot or sequel. They'd sooner go to a Hasbro toy than spend it on a completely original idea.
People like James Cameron and Christopher Nolan are among two exceptions. They seem to have little to no problems financing their original stories.
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