
After months of speculation on "Avatar's" release date, James Cameron has finally shared the latest update about the movie's sequel.
Since news broke out that "Avatar" sequels will premiere in 2017, 2018, and 2019, speculations are rife that the film will likely be released on a Christmas day, sticking to the release date of the original movie.
However, in an interview with Canadian publication Montreal Gazette (via Collider), Cameron gave clearer information when it comes to the sequel's release date.
"Christmas of '17 is the target...At least, that's what we've announced. But I don't consider that to be as important as the fact that when we get all three films done, we drop them a year apart," the critically-acclaimed filmmaker said during the Cirque du Soleil stage production of "Toruk: The First Flight."
Apart from the release date, Cameron also shared the stages of production that "Avatar 2" is in. According to him, the design is "more or less finished" and it took the team about two years to complete the task.
Creatures and landscapes, as well as new worlds within Pandora, have also been completed, he said. The movie scripts are still ongoing but are almost complete, while the stages, technical development, and infrastructure are already done.
"Avatar 2" was previously reported to be released this year and then 2016, and now, it's scheduled for 2017.
It's still a long way and anything can happen, but the filmmaker himself already described the progress of the project, so it's likely that this time the production will meet the deadline.
Meanwhile, knowing about the challenges that the production has met, it's expected that "Avatar 2" and other sequels are going to be bigger than the original movie.
Jim Gianopulos, chairman and CEO of Twentieth Century Fox even told Variety this year that the entire project will cost a lot.
"We know it's going to be a long journey. We know it's not going to be cheap.
"We know it's not going to be without new discoveries and new challenges in the process of producing something that is so beyond the normal form of filmmaking and technology, but what could be more exciting than that," Gianopulos said.