Avatar 2 and 3 Will Be Filmed Back To Back

And whether Grace returns depends “more on Sigourney’s agent than anything”, says Cameron

At a press launch for the Avatar Extended DVD and Blu-ray in the States last night he told journalists (including those for Coming Soon ), that, “Our plan right now is to do 2 and 3 as a single large production and release them a year apart. In order to do that, we have to refine our technical processes beyond the end of where we were finishing Avatar one a year ago. We need to future-proof ourselves out five or six years to the end of the third film.”

When asked where in this schedule he would fit the Cleoptra 3D project (with Angelina Jolie) he was rumoured to be considering, he responded, “I haven’t made any decisions about that, but here’s a decision: I’m not going to work on a film between Avatar two and three. It’s really a question of whether or not I do one between now and when we start 2 . We’re evaluating how much of our techwork and how much of our facility work it’s going to take. That’s not decided as of right now. I’d love to just start on Avatar 2 right now, but I don’t know if that’s possible or if it makes sense to wait.”

On the subject of whether Grace could return (which Sigourney Weaver hinted at the other day ), he added, “Who said she died? Nobody dies in a science fiction movie. Whether Grace lives or dies depends more on Sigourney’s agent than anything.”

Dave is a TV and film journalist who specializes in the science fiction and fantasy genres. He's written books about film posters and post-apocalypses, alongside writing for SFX Magazine for many years.