14 DAY TRIAL // As he promised in one of his many interviews after last year’s smashing hit “Avatar,” James Cameron is back for another trip to Pandora. Not only that, but he’s also making a threequel for it, it has been officially announced.
In what may come a very pleasant yet still very unexpected surprise, confirmation has arrived that Cameron is working on 2 “Avatar” sequels, which will probably go into production late next year.
Variety reports that Cameron will be most likely shooting the two films back to back, since there’s no other way he can make the official deadline: December 2014 and December 2015, respectively.
In other words, just like we informed you earlier this year, the first “Avatar” sequel arrives in theaters in 4 years’ time. Cameron is now busily working on the script, Variety says.
According to Variety, more serious talk about a sequel and threequel began this summer. One important provision of the deal says that Fox will co-fund with Cameron the Avatar Foundation, a nonprofit organization that “will support indigenous rights and the environment, including the fight against global warming.”
A portion of the proceeds made by both upcoming films will go straight to the Foundation, the deal stipulates.
“‘Avatar 2’ and ‘Avatar 3’ will be produced by Cameron and his partner Jon Landau for Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment. Lightstorm partner Rae Sanchini negotiated the deal on behalf of the company,” Variety informs.
One factor that weighed heavily in the negotiations was that the initial investment made with the first “Avatar,” which translated into a huge budget to enable the proper and groundbreaking 3D rendering, would be offset in the making of any follow-up.
As for the plot, Cameron himself promises that the two films will not ride on the coattails of the first pic, but be just as impressive as it was on their own.
“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,” Cameron says in a statement to the same publication.
“I’m looking forward to returning to Pandora, a world where our imaginations can run wild,” the famous director adds.