'Avatar 2' Release Date & Plot: James Cameron Confirms Christmas 2017 Release, Films Tell 'One Much Larger Story'

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It's been six years since "Avatar" was released in theaters and, as one of the highest grossing movies to ever be produced, its follow-up movie was expected to come the soonest. However, after some production delays, writer, producer and director James Cameron now confirms they might hit their 2017 release date.

Speaking with the Montreal Gazette, Cameron said that production is still on track for  announced 2017 sequel of "Avatar 2." "Christmas of '17 is the target," said the award-winning director. "At least, that's what we've announced. But I don't consider that to be as important as the fact that when we get all three films done, we drop them a year apart."

In the last two years, Cameron and his crew have been doing an "enormous" task of designing the film and also stated that "writing is ongoing, but almost finished." The painstaking pre-production is being done because, when "Avatar 2" does start shooting with its actors, they will be simultaneously doing this for three movies. As announced by 20th Century Fox back in January, "Avatar 2" will actually form part of a trilogy with "Avatar 3" out in 2018 and "Avatar 4" the following year, per Slash Film.

"I call it a meta-narrative that runs across the three movies. Each film stands alone, but it also tells one much larger story," added Cameron in the interview with Montreal Gazette.

Per Cinema Blend, the original target date for the release of "Avatar 2" was actually Christmas 2016. However, Cameron and his team were having difficulties with making the script cohesive with three big movies to fulfill. The news outlet also suggested that the Christmas 2017 release could still change and what's only certain is that, once the sequel is out, the next two movies will be released a year apart of each other.

Meanwhile, poised to reprise their role for "Avatar 2" are Zoe Saldana as Neytiri and Sam Worthington as Jake Sully, per The Hollywood Reporter. It's going to be a big work year for Saldana once the fantasy movie begins filming, as she is also set to fulfill her work commitments with the "Guardians of Galaxy" sequel. The latter is also headed for a 2017 theater run.

"Avatar 2" producer Jon Landau said they know that everyone will be expecting a lot from the movie. "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," he said via Entertainment Weekly.