Director James Cameron has announced that is working on three sequels for Avatar simultaneously. Cameron has hired screenwriters Josh Friedman (War Of The Worlds), Shane Salerno (Savages), Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver (both are working on Dawn Of The Planets Of The Apes) to collaborate on the next three Avatar sequels.

The three pictures will be filmed simultaneously, with production beginning next year. Avatar 2 is now expected to be released in December 2016, with the next two sequels arriving a year after the last. Avatar 4 has previously been suggested to be a prequel.

“Building upon the world we created with Avatar has been a rare and incredibly rewarding experience,” says Cameron. “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.”