The return of Avatar to theaters in a new special edition cut is now scheduled for August 27 and will be shown exclusively in digital 3D and IMAX 3D.

Director James Cameron offered the following statement with the announcement. “Audiences repeatedly told me they wanted more of Pandora and wished they could have stayed there longer,” he said. “So we’re making that possible. ‘Avatar: Special Edition’ will be exclusively in 3D and will have eight minutes of never before seen footage, including new creatures and action scenes. Whether you already love the movie, or you’ve never seen it, with this special edition, you’ll be seeing it like never before.”

This same special edition cut with 8 additional minutes, including the Jake/Neytiri sex scene, is also scheduled to make its way to Blu-ray Disc and DVD this November. There’s also a standing rumor that Fox will offer it in Blu-ray 3D exclusively with the purchase of Panasonic Blu-ray 3D hardware, which would make sense to push the adoption of Blu-ray 3D heading into the holiday shopping season. Neither Fox nor Panasonic have confirmed a deal is in place.