James Cameron Gives Update on Avatars 2 & 3

[dropcap]D[/dropcap]irector extraordinaire James Cameron, creator of such films as Titanic, Aliens and Terminator 2, has been talking about the planned follow-ups to his epic sci-fi opus Avatar, released way back in 2009. He’s apparently hunkered down on a ranch in New Zealand (hopefully not the one where all those critters from The Hobbit met their end) working on the scripts for Avatars 2 and 3, but took some time out to have a chat with Play Goes Strong.

“I was talking the other day with Peter Jackson,” Cameron revealed, “and said, ‘You had it easy dude. You had the books when you did the second and third Lord of the Rings. I have to create my own books in my head and extract a script from it.’ I’m deep into it and I’m living in Pandora right now… The characters talk and it’s writing itself. I’m almost there right now. It’s building fast.”

When asked about his writing process, Cameron said “As a writer, I need isolation. I’m calling you from New Zealand right now where I’m writing on a little farm. When you live in a special world like Pandora, you have to live in that world.”

The director also coolly claimed that he’s not feeling the pressure of coming up with two sequels to the world-beating Avatar, which knocked his film Titanic out of the ‘highest grossing movie of all time’ top spot without breaking a sweat.

“Pressure, no,” he claimed. “It’s a little daunting because sequels are always tricky. You have to be surprising and stay ahead of audience anticipation. At the same time, you have to massage their feet with things that they know and love about the first film. I’ve walked that line in the past, so I’m not too worried about it. At the same time, I definitely have to deliver the goods…”

Cameron wouldn’t be pushed on a release date for Avatar 2, but if rumours are to be believed, we can expect our next instalment of neon body-swapping rainforest fun in 2015.