“Fear the Walking Dead” star Cliff Curtis has signed on to co-star in all four of the planned “Avatar” sequels, TheWrap has learned.
Though the eventual fate of his “Fear” character is unknown, Curtis’ shooting schedule on the 20th Century Fox film will be arranged to accommodate his television commitments.
Director James Cameron announced plans for four “Avatar” sequels last month after having been in development for nearly a decade. The first of these films, the still-untitled “Avatar 2,” is set for release Dec. 18, 2020 with “Avatar 3” due a year later on Dec. 17, 2021. Following a three-year gap, “Avatar 4” is set for release Dec. 20, 2024, followed a year later by “Avatar 5” on Dec. 19, 2025.
New Zealand-born Curtis is set to play the character of “Metkayina,” leader of the Reef People Clan on planet Pandora.
“Avatar 2” was originally slated for a Dec. 2014 release, but ended up bumped to 2016 and then again to 2018. The 2020 release slot was originally supposed to be occupied by film No. 3.
Zoe Saldana, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang and producer Jon Landau are all returning to work on the sequels, with Saldana confirming she will be traveling to New Zealand to start shooting later this summer.
Cameron co-wrote the scripts with Josh Friedman working on “Avatar 2” (“Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles”), Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver on “Avatar 3” (“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”) and Shane Salerno on “Avatar 4” (“Hawaii Five-O”).
Curtis has played the role of Travis Manawa on “Fear the Walking Dead” since 2015. His other roles include “Blow,” “Once We Were Warriors” and the TV mini-series “Traffic.” He’s repped by WME, the Robert Bruce Agency and JR Talent.