Not content with three films in the franchise, James Cameron has confirmed that Avatar 4 is indeed happening, and has announced details relating to all the upcoming sequels in the Avatar world, as well as giving them release dates.
Cameron has enlisted the help of a hoard of new screenwriters to help him with the screenplays for the series of sequels, which he is now stretching out to Avatars 2, 3 and 4 which is potentially a prequel. Josh Friedman who worked on TV's Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles was the first new addition, before Cameron added Alien vs Predator and Armageddon screenwriter Shane Salermo and husband and wife team Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver (who are currently writing Jurassic Park IV and worked on both Planet of the Apes reboots). So it's safe to say Cameron wants all-out action blockbusters from all three films.
'Building upon the world we created with Avatar has been a rare and incredibly rewarding experience,' said Cameron in a statement from Fox. 'In writing the new films, I’ve come to realise that Avatar’s world, story and characters have become even richer than I anticipated. It became apparent that two films would not be enough to capture everything I wanted to put on screen. 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.'
Avatar 2 is now expected to hit screens in December 2016, with Avatar 3 following a year later and Avatar 4 the year after that.