James Cameron’s “Avatar” project just got even bigger — so large that Cameron is no longer going it alone.
The director and
20th Century Fox
announced Thursday that they are now making three, not two, sequels to
Cameron’s 2009 blockbuster, the highest-grossing movie of all time with
global sales of $2.78 billion.
Rather than writing the sequels himself, as was Cameron’s original
plan, the filmmaker has brought on a team of screenwriters to
collaborate on the follow-ups: Josh Friedman (“War of the Worlds”); the
team of Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver (“Rise of the Planets of the
Apes”); and Shane Salerno (“Savages”).
The three sequels will be filmed simultaneously, with production commencing in 2014.
But fans will have to wait a long time to see any of the new editions.
The first sequel is set for December 2016, with the other two films
following in December 2017 and December 2018. The movies will be
produced by Cameron and Jon Landau’s Lightstorm Entertainment, with Joe
Letteri and
Peter Jackson’s Weta Digital running visual effects.
“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,” Cameron said in a statement. “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.”
Added 20th Century Fox Chairman Jim Gianopulos: “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.”
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