He might just be in the early stages of making Avatar 2, but now, James Cameron is announcing that he’s actually going to be making three avatar sequels, not just the two that had be previously announced.
To help with the writing duties, he’s hired Josh Friedman (War of the Worlds), Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver (Rise of the Planets of the Apes), and Shane Salerno (Savages, Salinger) to help out on the scripts.
His plan is to beginf filming all three sequels together some time in early 2014, with the first sequel hitting screens December 2016, and the second in December of 2017.
Here’s what Cameron had to say about the films: “Building upon the world we created with Avatar has been a rare and incredibly rewarding experience. In writing the new films, I’ve come to realize that Avatar’s world, story and characters have become even richer than I anticipated, and it became apparent that two films would not be enough to capture everything I wanted to put on screen. And to help me continue to expand this universe, I’m pleased to bring aboard Amanda, Rick, Shane and Josh — all writers I’ve long admired - to join me in completing the films screenplays.”
20th Century Fox chairman and CEO, Jim Gianopulos had this to add: “We at the studio have no higher priority, and can feel no greater joy, than enabling Jim to continue and expand his vision of the world of Avatar.’ The growing breadth and scale of Jim Cameron’s plans for his magnificent fantasy worlds continue to amaze us all.”