James Cameron Reveals Dates for ‘Avatar’ Sequels

The first Avatar sequel will be released in 2020.

James Cameron’s hotly anticipated follow-ups to the 2009 fantasy film have been repeatedly delayed but the director has taken to Facebook to announce that “concurrent production on four sequels” has begun and the first movie will be released in 2020, followed by the other three in 20121, 2024 and 2025.

He wrote: “Great to be working with the best team in the business! Avatar takes flight as we begin concurrent production on four sequels. The journey continues December 18, 2020, December 17, 2021, December 20, 2024 and December 19, 2025!”

James previously spoke about shooting all four movies together, comparing it to a TV miniseries.

He said: “It’s not back-to-back. It’s really all one big production. It’s more the way you would shoot a miniseries. So, we’ll be shooting across all [‘Avatar’ scripts] simultaneously. So, Monday I might be doing a scene from movie four, and Tuesday I’m doing a scene from movie one.

“We’re working across, essentially, eight hours of story. It’s going to be a big challenge to keep it all fixed in our minds, exactly where we are, across that story arc at any given point. It’s going to be probably the most challenging thing I’ve ever done.

“I’m sure the actors will be challenged by that as well. It’s like, ‘No, no, no, no, this person hasn’t died yet, so you’re still in this phase of your life.’ It’s a saga. It’s like doing all three ‘Godfather’ films at the same time.”

And he claimed he wasn’t worried about when the movies will be released.

He said last year: “We haven’t moved that target yet, but we will if we need to. The important thing for me is not when the first one comes out but the cadence of the release pattern. I want them to be released as close together as possible, If It’s an annual appointment to show up at Christmas, I want to make sure that we’re able to fulfill on that promise.”