The sequel to the 2009 sci-fi blockbuster, which grossed $2.7 billion at the global box office, had not officially been dated, but it was expected for Christmas 2018.

In November 2016, Fox dated an untitled film from James Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment for Dec. 21, 2018.

Cameron has plans to add four Avatar films to the franchise, all of which he has been developing simultaneously. In April of last year, Cameron said that all of the scripts were complete and that the majority of the cast was already in place. Stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana and Sigourney Weaver are all set to make a return trip to Pandora.

Cameron added to the Star: “What people have to understand is that this is a cadence of releases. So, we’re not making Avatar 2, we’re making Avatar 2, 3, 4 and 5. It’s an epic undertaking. It’s not unlike building the Three Gorges dam.”

Weaver told The Hollywood Reporter late last year that she was not sure if the proposed 2018 date would be made, saying, "We haven't started it, so I don't know how realistic that date is, but I think it's going to be very exciting." She added: "I've read three of the four [sequel's scripts,] and they're even more extraordinary than the first one."