Hey Yo, Draven here.
There has been a lot of speculation on the AVATAR sequels for almost four years now. We were first told that there would be two sequels filmed back-to-back for release in 2014 and 2015. That obviously is not happening but yesterday we did find out that James Cameron did hire a new writer to work on the sequel. Now, we have some concrete information from Deadline that not only is there is going to be an AVATAR 2 and 3, we are also going to get an AVATAR 4. They will be filmed LORD OF THE RINGS style, simultaneously, with releases planned in December 2016, 2017 and 2018.
The cost of the three films being filmed together is expected to be close to $1 billion, which would make it the most expensive film project in history. The first AVATAR though is still the highest grossing film, both domestically and worldwide, grossing almost $2.8 billion worldwide. So, even with production costs close to $1 billion, Fox only needs each of the sequels to replicate a fraction of the first's success and this will be profitable for them. This is actually a time where filming these sequels back to back makes sense.
Deadline also revealed the plans for the three films’ screenplays. As we stated yesterday, SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES writer, Josh Friedman will be writing AVATAR 2. Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver (RISE and DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, JURASSIC PARK IV) will be writing AVATAR 3 and Shane Salerno (the upcoming documentary SALINGER, ALIEN VS.PREDATOR REQUIEM, SHAFT) will be writing AVATAR 4. All three will be writing the scripts for their respective films separately and Cameron will work individually with each of them and oversee the process. Production is expected to begin next year.
Cameron had this to say about the status of the films:
“Building upon the world we created with Avatar has been a rare and incredibly rewarding experience. In writing the new films, I’ve come to realize that Avatar’s world, story and characters have become even richer than I anticipated, and 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.”
20th Century Fox CEO, Jim Gianopulos added this:
“We at the studio have no higher priority, and can feel no greater joy, than enabling Jim to continue and expand his vision of the world ofAvatar. The growing breadth and scale of Jim Cameron’s plans for his magnificent fantasy worlds continue to amaze us all.”
I know it is easy to hate on AVATAR but I still really enjoy the film and am excited to see what Cameron and company come up with for these films. This is going to be one of the biggest and most anticipated film projects in history and I can’t wait to see what happens with them. What do you guys think? Are you excited for AVATAR 2, 3, and 4?
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