Avatar: Four sequels of James Cameron's film in the pipeline, one every Christmas from 2020

James Cameron 2009’s Avatar took ten years to make — Cameron and his team had to essentially invent new moviemaking technology on the spot, which they used to make one of the most visually mind-blowing fantasy films ever. [caption id=“attachment_3403078” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Neytiri in Avatar. Image via Facebook.[/caption] While Avatar has been criticised plenty in the years since — and it’s not exactly cool to say you’re a fan — Cameron has been amassing a new team of writers, crew members, and artists for a long-in-development return to planet Pandora. Though the films have been teased and delayed for years, now we finally know when we’ll get to see them: The next four Avatar movies have been scheduled for dates all the way into the year 2025. The Avatar team announced the news in a Facebook post on Saturday, which marks the official return to production on the sequels: “Great to be working with the best team in the business! Avatar takes flight as we begin concurrent production on four sequels. The journey continues December 18, 2020, December 17, 2021, December 20, 2024 and December 19, 2025.” Here’s the post:

That still gives them three whole years to get a cast together for the next film, and iron out any kinks in whatever new tech Cameron’s been brewing up all this time.

To make the first Avatar, Cameron developed a whole new way of working with 3-D motion-capture on a virtual stage.

A new Avatar film has a lot to live up to, since the first set such an incredible precedent. The universe of Pandora and beyond is a blank slate — or, rather, a green screen — on which Cameron can project whatever kind of new adventures he wants. Let’s hope they’re worth the wait.