James Cameron confirms Avatar 2 release date and talks the sequels

James Cameron has provided an update on his long-awaited Avatar sequels, revealing that the films are actually on their way (it’s been like 7 years, we were just assuming he’s been sitting on top of a mountainous pile of money thanks to the first film).

In a recent interview, the director said he was eager to prove that the first film wasn’t a ‘fluke’ and, because of this, he’s ready to give it his all for the sake of Pandora.

Confirming the Avatar 2 release date for Christmas in a recent interview, the director also described how each of these films stand on their own and yet work together to tell a larger story, describing the overall structure as a ‘meta-narrative.’ (Continues after video).

“Christmas of ’17 is the target,” Cameron told the Montreal Gazette via Squareeyed ahead of the release of Cirque Du Soleil’s Toruk: The First Flight. “At least, that’s what we’ve announced. But I don’t consider that to be as important as the fact that when we get all three films done, we drop them a year apart. I call it a meta-narrative that runs across the three movies. Each film stands alone, but it also tells one much larger story.”

“It’s been about a two-year task. [We’ve finished] all the creatures and the landscapes, and the new worlds within the world of Pandora that you see. The writing is ongoing, but almost finished. Technical development is done. Stages are done. Infrastructure. So we’re really poised to start after the first of the year.”

The plan is to shoot the sequels back to back in Lord of the Rings fashion, and Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, and Stephen Lang are returning to the fold. The first film marked a new dawn of 3-D blockbusters. But that doesn’t mean the production team are ready to rest on their laurels, with producers attempting to film sequences underwater to once again push the boundaries of what is humanly possible with performance capture filmmaking.