It’s crazy to think that Avatar opened in theaters more than three years ago, on December 18, 2009, but here we are. While it’s been a while since we heard from James Cameron on Avatar 2 and Avatar 3, Play Goes Strong (via Bleeding Cool) caught up with the filmmaker not long ago and asked him for a status update.
“I’m working on ‘Avatar 2’ and ‘Avatar 3.’ I was talking the other day with Peter Jackson and said, ‘You had it easy dude. You had the books when you did the second and third ‘Lord of the Rings.’ I have to create my own books in my head and extract a script from it. I’m deep into it and I’m living in Pandora right now. There is that start up torque where you feel it’s coming to you. Then you build up momentum. That’s when it gets fun. The characters talk and it’s writing itself. I’m almost there right now. It’s building fast,” said Cameron.
He’s currently working on the films at his new property in New Zealand. He added that “when you live in a special world like Pandora, you have to live in that world.”
The first film is the biggest blockbuster of all-time, earning $2.782 billion at the worldwide box office, so does he feel pressure? “Pressure, no. It’s a little daunting because sequels are always tricky. You have to be surprising and stay ahead of audience anticipation. At the same time, you have to massage their feet with things that they know and love about the first film. I’ve walked that line in the past, so I’m not too worried about it. At the same time, I definitely have to deliver the goods.”
Cameron also couldn’t give a new release date for the first sequel, saying that it will be determined when he can get the script to Twentieth Century Fox Film. Avatar 2 was originally targeted for a December, 2014 release and Avatar 3 for December, 2015.
