James Cameron says he’s deep into writing the screenplays for Avatar 2 and Avatar 3 in an interview with Life Goes Strong and it seems as if things are progressing nicely:
“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.”
When Cameron told Peter Jackson he had it easy on Lord of the Rings I wonder if Jackson turned around and said, “Maybe, but try turning The Hobbit into three movies instead of one 90-minute film… Dude!”
Of course, James Cameron would have probably laughed and said, “James Cameron does what James Cameron does, because that’s what James Cameron does.” Cameron laughs in the face of pressure as he exhibits in this next quote:
“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… As for a release date that will be determined by when I get the script out. No pressure.”
As far as when we’ll finally see these two films, who knows? Avatar 2 was originally slated to hit theaters in 2014, but it sounds like 2015 will be the earliest it will arrive.