Not only is "Avatar" coming, but the 3D sci-fi action adventure flick is a franchise in the making, director James Cameron said Thursday morning.
In a press conference in the UK, where "Avatar" is having its world premiere, Cameron told UK media outlets that he had planned stories for two more "Avatars."
"I have a story worked out for the second film and the third film, but my lips are sealed," he said. "So in terms of the pitch it was: OK, you’ve spent a lot of money on the first one; on the second one we’ll be able to amortize it and focus on the story and all that … and they bought that."
Cameron is apparently serious enough about turning his futuristic adventure into a multi-volume epic to have lined up star Sam Worthington for two additional installments. Worthington told Total Film that he has signed up for two more sequels.
Additionally, in a webcast from London, Cameron said that he "always planned on a sequel" to the film. Characteristically confident of "Avatar’s" blockbuster potential, the director — whose 1997 "Titanic" is, at $1.8 billion, the highest grossing film of all time — quipped, "I don’t see how we can lose."
With producer Jon Landau seated next to him, the director cited that he believed the 161-minute movie, which was over a decade in the making and is estimated to have a budget of $237 million, will be a success because its interstellar story has a "global reach" that will play well in international markets such as Russia and China, as well as Stateside, and "transcend all cultures."
Avatar comes out in 3D and 2D on Dec. 18.
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