Avatar 4 Will Take Place Six Years in the Future

Avatar 3 may have just had its release date confirmed, but James Cameron is already thinking about Avatar 4.

Speaking with People Magazine, the three-time Oscar winner said they're "going to have a big time jump in movie four". He said, "We see them and then we go away for six years and we come back".

He also revealed that they "even did part of movie four" in quick succession with Avatar 3, but they are yet to film the rest of Avatar 4. Cameron told People, "We'll start on that after three is released".

Audiences will have to wait a long time before they discover what happens, though, as Avatar 4 is not due in theaters until December 21, 2029.

Avatar 3 is set for a Christmas release date in 2025, and Cameron teased a little more about what to expect in an interview with GQ. He revealed that there is "going to be greater character depth" with "new cultures, new creatures — all the same stuff you'd expect from an Avatar movie, but the whole idea of this cycle of films is to live with these people and go on this epic journey with them."

While much of the fanfare around Avatar is about the VFX and the technical spectacle, Cameron told GQ that the third chapter is "not about, 'We're going to show you the best water [VFX] ever done' — but you get more into the heart and soul of the characters." He also teased new characters, saying, "This is a journey over time. It will play out through movie three, into movie four and movie five. There's an epic cycle to the whole thing."