Fans of James Cameron’s Avatar have been eagerly awaiting a sequel since the film was released in 2009. Cameron has been teasing us with the slightest details of what the next Pandora-set adventures might involve, but he has been very coy about story specifics and start dates. However, it now looks like Cameron is finally about to start shooting THREE new Avatar movies back-to-back.

Avatar SPOILERS follow.

Sigourney Weaver divulged the details to Showbiz 441 at the premiere of her new Clinton –inspired series, Political Animals. The actress stated that once she completes work on the series, she will feature in a short run of a Christopher Durang play and then segue into James Cameron’s three Avatar sequels. This again confirms Weaver’s involvement in the Avatar world – even though her character died in the last film. It should be noted that when the actress was asked about a timeline for the production of these movies, she said that she didn’t know, replying “I just show up”. However, it does look like a second series of the six-part Political Animals will have to wait until Cameron completes work on this new trilogy.

This mammoth undertaking is probably one of the reasons why Avatar 2 was bumped from its intended Christmas 2014 release date, and it gels with what we heard last month when Cameron said:

"I’m not interested in developing anything. I’m in the Avatar business. Period. That’s it. I’m making Avatar 2, Avatar 3, maybe Avatar 4, and I’m not going to produce other people’s movies for them.”

Cameron to make Avatar sequels

The move to shoot three Avatar sequels at the same time makes sense for a number of reasons. Avatar wasn’t cheap to produce (over $200 million), and three films would come at a reduced cost if Cameron concentrated on one extended shoot, rather than dismantling everything only to have to rebuild (and re-hire) a few months later. Peter Jackson shot the Lord of the Rings trilogy at the same time, a move which kept costs to a minimum - and we all know how that turned out. The move also ensures the availability of cast and crew. One blocked time-frame means that you may not have to recast roles, or shoot around actors who are busy elsewhere (hence the reason why Political Animals will have to wait for Weaver).

However, there could be a downside to this plan. Avatar was so successful ($2.7 billion globally) because audiences had never seen anything like it before – it was a “game changer”. The effects, coupled with the use of 3D, made it a true cinematic experience, but Cameron risks cheapening the brand, (if you will) by flooding the market with too many Avatar films. Sure, there is pent-up demand for Avatar 2 now, but will fans be so willing to part with their cash to see parts three and four in quick succession?

Screen Rant readers will know that Cameron likes to keep his Avatar cards close to his chest and this should be treated as speculation until it is confirmed or denied by the director. After all, how many times has Tom Arnold said that True Lies 2 was on the way?

Source: Showbiz411