EXCLUSIVE: Dileep Rao is set to reprise his role as Dr. Max Patel in James Cameron’s forthcoming Avatar sequels, joining returnees Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Joel David Moore, CCH Pounder and Giovanni Ribisi. Newcomers include Kate Winslet, Oona Chaplin and Cliff Curtis.

The 20th Century Fox film officially began production last September, while plot details continue to be kept under wraps. The sequels to the original, which holds the record for highest-grossing film of all time with a worldwide box office gross of $2.79 billion, have an estimated collective production budget expected to top $1 billion.

Cameron and Jon Landau are producing through their Lightstorm. Cameron wrote the films along with Josh Friedman, Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver and Shane Salerno. Fox is releasing Avatar 2 on December 18, 2020. The third installment will bow December 17, 2021, followed by Avatar 4 on December 20, 2024 and the fifth on December 19, 2025.

Rao, whose credits include Christopher Nolan’s Inception and Sam Raimi’s Drag Me to Hell, can be seen in the upcoming feature Remember Amnesia. He is repped by TalentWorks, Echo Lake Entertainment and Ziffren Brittenham.