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With that, Cameron has hired several writers to help pen the sequels.

Josh Friedman (who ironically wrote TV's Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles), Rise of the Planet of the Apes duo Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, and Shane Salerno (Shaft, Savages) will collaborate with him on the screenplays for the three films.

According to Fox, the new movies will be filmed simultaneously, with production beginning next year.



The first sequel will hit theaters in December 2016, with the second to follow in December 2017 and the third a year later.



Cameron and Jon Landau will produce through their Lightstorm Entertainment banner.



The filmmaker will work once again with WETA on creating the fantastical worlds.

“In writing the new films, I’ve come to realize that Avatar’s world, story and characters have become even richer than I anticipated, and it became apparent that two films would not be enough to capture everything I wanted to put on screen,” Cameron said in a statement.

Avatar remains the highest-grossing movie of all time, with the tally standing at over $2.7 billion.