'Avatar 2' release date, plot news: James Cameron finished writing for upcoming sequels; motion capture filming to begin this year

For many years, the "Avatar" sequel seems to have been a creative gift that keeps on giving where award-winning film director James Cameron is concerned. Despite having initially set out to write one sequel to his 2009 blockbuster movie, he ended up falling right into a well of ideas and has now just finished writing the script for installment number 4.

But the process has not been an easy one, even for a seasoned writer like Cameron. After spending two years on the writing table, the record-breaking filmmaker was more than ready to get back out and start enjoying life again. In a recent interview with The Daily Beast, Cameron said that writing was a hard and tedious task that he did not really enjoy at all.

Despite this, he kept challenging the limits of his creativity, day in and day out, and after almost a decade of drought laced in vague promises of more "Avatar" movies to come, Cameron has finally given a major definitive update on the status of his epic pentalogy. The writing process is done and over with, and the sequels are ready to move on with production work.

"The thing is, my focus isn't on 'Avatar 2.' My focus is on 'Avatar 2, 3, 4 and 5' equally. That's exactly how I'm approaching it," Cameron said, further adding that he has just kicked off the process of active prep and will soon be starting motion capture work with the actors in August.

Since him writing the scripts has also given the production team ample time to create their own magic on set, everything has been designed and all that's left to do is to bring the characters and the storylines into the fold.

The upcoming "Avatar 2" will reportedly feature the humans in antagonistic roles, yet again, in a tale that's set on the oceans and rainforests of Pandora. Future installments will also be exploring other places, like the moons of Polyphemus, as it tells the epic saga of Jake (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri's (Zoe Saldana) family.

"Avatar 2" is scheduled to hit theaters on Christmas next year.