If we were asked to describe the upcoming Avatar sequels using one word and one world only, we’d find it quite difficult. Ambitious? Derivative? World-building? Well, maybe we’re cheating with the latter, but such a question doesn’t trouble director James Cameron who, when asked the story behind the next chapters in the sci-fi franchise, described them as “bitchin.'” No, really.
Speaking to Empire, the esteemed director surmised the sequels in wonderful fashion:
“I can tell you one thing about them,” Cameron laughs when Empire nonchalantly enquiries about storylines. “They’re gonna be bitchin’. You will shit yourself with your mouth wide open.”
It’s a bold claim, no doubt. But given that the original film pulled in a staggering $2.8 billion, Cameron has reason to be confident. Further in the interview, the filmmaker also clarified the format in which the movies will be shot, after previous reports suggested that Avatar 2, 3 and 4 would go one more than Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit and film in 60 frames per second. However, it turns out that Cameron will stick to 48 fps when handling the sequels.
“My thinking at the time was that 60 [FPS] might be a better segue to the video market,” he says. “I’ll be plugging into a system that’s a little more mature, so it makes sense for me to do 48 frames at this point.”
The Avatar sequels are currently shooting back to back down in New Zealand, with plans to release Avatar 2 in December 2016. Plot details are, as you’d imagine, currently scarce on the ground, but we’ve heard that Cameron has plans to explore the oceans of Pandora for the next outing. Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana and, strangely, Sigourney Weaver are all expected to return.