Avatar 2, 3, 4 and 5 filmmaker James Cameron finally admits he 'overwrote'

The original plan was for a single follow-up before Cameron's imagination went wild

Cameron's 3D smash Avatar grossed $2.8 billion at the global box office in 2009 (Capital Pictures)

He’s been talking about them for years (well, ever since the first one smashed the box office record seven years ago, a record it holds to this day) but James Cameron has finally admitted that his planned four Avatar sequels are a result of him “overwriting”.

That’s a second, third, fourth and fifth film we’re talking about, coming to a cinema near you for the better part of the next decade, so they’re going to need to be pretty special.

Cameron, the Oscar-winning writer and director of Titanic and The Terminator, has insisted that the studio is “very happy” with his films despite originally green-lighting only a single follow-up.

“The Avatar story arc was originally meant to be a trilogy, but I overwrite and my writers overwrote as well,” he told Variety. “But basically the first of the sequels cloned itself and became two films, so now it’s four films, and the studio’s very happy with it. They have an opportunity to make more money but it’s also an opportunity to spend a lot more money, too, so there’s a clench factor.”

The first sequel, known only as Avatar 2 at this early stage, is set to arrive in December 2018, followed by Avatar 3 in December 2020, Avatar 4 in December 2022 and Avatar 5 in December 2023. Replace ‘Christmas’ with Avatar and you get the picture.

Cameron’s first Avatar, released in 2009, quickly became the highest-grossing film of all time after making $2.8 billion at the global box office. Much of its success came down to its innovative use of 3D technology rather than its (decidedly average) storyline, so it will be interesting to see how the sequels will fare now 3D movies are commonplace.

“Obviously, expectations are going to be very high on these films, especially on Avatar 2, to make sure it wasn’t just some big fluke the first time,” the 61-year-old filmmaker said last year.

“So we’ve got to deliver. I’ve created a nice rod for my own back, so they say.”