Cameron's next films to be 'Avatar' 2 & 3 (HWT)

By Nancy Tartaglione

BREAKING NEWS:

Following on from the unprecedented blockbuster success of last year's "Avatar," James Cameron's next two films will be continuations in the series, Fox chairmen Jim Gianopulos and Tom Rothman announced Wednesday morning.

Cameron will start work on "Avatar" 2 and 3 early next year, with an eye towards starting production later in 2011.

According to Fox, Cameron will decide if he'll shoot the films back-to-back once the scripts are completed. However, release of the first (untitled) film is targeted for December 2014. The third film is eyeing a December 2015 bow.

"Avatar" 2 & 3 will be produced by Cameron and Jon Landau for Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment.

"'Avatar' is not only the highest grossing movie of all time, it is a created universe based on the singular imagination and daring of James Cameron, who also raised the consciousness of people worldwide to some of the greatest issues facing our planet," said Rothman and Gianopulos. "We had no higher priority, and can feel no greater joy, than enabling Jim to continue and expand his vision of the world of Avatar. This is a great day in the history of our company, and we thank Jim, Jon Landau, Rae Sanchini and all of their team and all of our Fox colleagues throughout the world, who have made this possible."

Said Cameron: "It is a rare and remarkable opportunity when a filmmaker gets to build a fantasy world, and watch it grow, with the resources and partnership of a global media company. Avatar was conceived as an epic work of fantasy - a world that audiences could visit, across all media platforms, and this moment marks the launch of the next phase of that world. With two new films on the drawing boards, my company and I are embarking on an epic journey with our partners at Twentieth Century Fox. Our goal is to meet and exceed the global audience's expectations for the richness of Avatar's visual world and the power of the storytelling.

"In the second and third films, which will be self contained stories that also fulfill a greater story arc, we will not back off the throttle of Avatar's visual and emotional horsepower, and will continue to explore its themes and characters, which touched the hearts of audiences in all cultures around the world. I'm looking forward to returning to Pandora, a world where our imaginations can run wild," Cameron continued.

"It is very exciting to be teaming again with our partners at Fox to give audiences the opportunity to return to Pandora," added Landau. "With the first movie, Jim only scratched the surface of the stories he wants to tell and the creatures and world he wants to create. Now we will continue his vision."

This latest collaboration marks the continuation of a relationship between Cameron and Fox that dates back to 1985's "Aliens" and spans such films as "The Abyss," "True Lies" and, of course, "Titanic."