If you have been anticipating the Avatar sequels made official in October 2010, boy do I have some good news for you. On August 1, director James Cameron in collaboration with 20th Century Fox announced that not two but three sequels are in the works and four writers have already been selected to get the process going. Cameron handpicked screenwriters Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver (Rise of the Planets of the Apes), Shane Salerno (Savages, Salinger), and Josh Friedman (War of the Worlds) to collaborate with him on the screenplays for the three upcoming Avatar films. Much like Peter Jackson did with the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Cameron plans to shoot all three sequels simultaneously beginning next year. Avatar 2 will release in December 2016, Avatar 3 in December 2017, and Avatar 4 a year after that. They will be produced by Cameron and Jon Landau through their Lightstorm Entertainment banner. Again, WETA Digital will contribute top-class special effects.

Cameron commented on the exciting news. “Building upon the world we created with AVATAR has been a rare and incredibly rewarding experience. In writing the new films, I’ve come to realize that AVATAR’s world, story and characters have become even richer than I anticipated, and it became apparent that two films would not be enough to capture everything I wanted to put on screen. And to help me continue to expand this universe, I’m pleased to bring aboard Amanda, Rick, Shane and Josh — all writers I’ve long admired -­ to join me in completing the films screenplays.”

Plot details remain under wraps, but all signs point to at least one of the many sequels taking place underwater as Cameron likely captured some breathtaking shots when he travelled to the deepest part of the Mariana Trench.

[Via Deadline]