James Cameron to make three sequels to hit film Avatar

Screen grab from the 2009 film Avatar. Credit: Avatar

Award-winning director James Cameron has announced that he will be making three sequels to the hit film Avatar today.

The 2009 film was the highest grossing film of all time winning two Golden Globes as well as three Oscars. It was nominated for a total of nine Academy Awards.

The three pictures will be filmed simultaneously with production beginning next year. The first sequel is due to be released in December 2016, with the second and third films released in consecutive years.

Commenting on the new sequels, Cameron said:

Cameron has hired screenwriters Josh Friedman writer for War of the Worlds, and writersRick Jaffa and Amanda Silver who wrote Rise of the Planets of the Apes. He has also taken on board Shane Salerno to collaborate with him on the screenplays for the three films. The director said:

Film director and Lightstorm Entertainment Chairman James Cameron delivers a keynote address. Credit: Reuters/Jo Yong-Hak

20th Century Fox chairman and CEO Jim Gianopulos said:

The three Avatar sequels will mark Cameron's latest collaborations with 20th Century Fox, after his hugely successful alliance on his 1996 hit Titanic, which became the most successful film in history.