James Cameron has some updates on his upcoming Avatar Sequel(s)

James Cameron recently talked to RTL (via MarketSaw) about the upcoming three sequels to Avatar, the top grossing movie of all time with $2.782 billion at the worldwide box office.
"We're still in the early stages. Right now we're developing the software. I'm writing the scripts. We're designing all the creatures and characters and the settings, and so on. So, I'm not actually directing yet, but I'm doing all the other creative processes that lead up to that," Cameron said.
He added that he thinks "it's going very well. I think it's going to be spectacular. You'll see new worlds, new habitats, new cultures. The primary conflict between the human view kind of dominating nature and the Na'vi view of being integrated into nature is the same, but it manifests itself in very different ways."
As far as the tech behind the upcoming films, they have greatly reduced how long one movie will take to make. "The first film… took almost four years to make. We expect to be able to accelerate the process quite a bit, because we've improved a lot of the software and the computer graphics tools, and we've been working very closely with Weta Digital down here in New Zealand developing a whole new suite of tools to speed up the process."
Cameron also said they are "looking at high frame rate. I'm studying that. I haven't made a final decision yet, whether the entire film will be made at high frame rate or parts of it. You know, we'll be shooting at a native resolution of probably 4K and so then there should be a lot of true 4K theaters by then as well."
So what can we expect story wise? "The thing that's great about 'Avatar,' it's such a rich world, I can explore any theme or any idea that I want. Once you've got the characters that an audience loves, it's great to surprise them and make changes and turns that they don't expect. And you don't have to spend so much time of the movie setting up all that stuff, because the audience will remember from the previous film."

Avatar 2 is scheduled for a December, 2016 release, Avatar 3 for December of 2017, and Avatar 4 in 2018.

James Cameron shooting 'Avatar’ sequels in New Zealand, all dates confirmed

James Cameron said he expects the films to be released the following December 2016, 2017and 2018

The filmmaker made the announcement at a press conference in Wellington, N.Z., with the New Zealand’s prime minister John Key.

The three films will spend at least $412 million (500 million in New Zealand dollars) in that nation as a condition of an agreement between Fox, Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment and the government of New Zealand. In return, the films will receive a film industry tax rebate of 25% — a figure which was recently increased from 15%.

“The ‘Avatar’ sequels will provide hundreds of jobs and thousands of hours of work directly in the screen sector as well as jobs right across the economy,” Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce said in a statement.

“Avatar” producer Jon Landau and Paul Hanneman, Fox’s co-presidents of worldwide theatrical marketing and distribution, were also on hand for the announcment. “New Zealand offers unparalleled support to films of this scale,” Hanneman said.

Cameron praised the New Zealand production crews and special effects houses.

“Avatar,” released in 2009, is the highest-grossing movie with $2.78 billion worldwide. The sci-fi actioner was shot in Los Angeles and New Zealand.

 Peter Jackson’s three “Hobbit” films were shot back-to-back-to-back in New Zealand with the final lensing taking place this fall. “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” grossed over $1 billion and “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” totaled $205 million in its opening weekend.

Cameron also said work on the “Avatar” sequels was already underway with Jackson’s Weta.
The deal for the three films receiving the 25% rebate was outlined in a memorandum of understanding between the New Zealand government, Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. It specified that at least $412 million would be spent on production in New Zealand, including most  live action filming and visual effects.

 The memorandum of understanding also spells out that 90% of live action crew are expected to be New Zealanders; an internship program will be supported; New Zealand will host at least one official red carpet premiere; and a featurette on New Zealand will be included in DVDs and Blu Rays.

The memorandum also states that Cameron and Landau have offered to serve as founding members of a new screen advisory board to provide advice and guidance to New Zealand filmmakers looking to succeed internationally.

 During an October interview, “Avatar” star Sam Worthington said he believed production on the sequel would begin by next October. Cameron had announced in August there would be three sequels and that screenwriters Josh Friedman (“War of the Worlds”), Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver (“Rise of the Planets of the Apes”), and Shane Salerno (“Savages,” “Salinger”) would collaborate with him on screenplays for “Avatar 2,” “Avatar 3″ and “Avatar 4.”