'Avatar 4' to Be a Prequel, James Cameron Explains

Avatar could follow the 'Star Wars' formula

James Cameron talks 'Avatar' Sequels, Prequel

Avatar 2 and 3 may not have been filmed just yet, but James Cameron already knows what he'll do for Avatar 4.

Avatar 4, it seems, will go back before the first installment of the upcoming franchise.

In a new interview with MTV, director Cameron freely offers up details about Avatar 4, sharing the idea for a prequel.

Read: Former Employee Claims James Cameron Stole 'Avatar' Story

Cameron explains, "I haven't really put pen to paper on it, but basically it goes back to the early expeditions of Pandora, and kind of what went wrong with the humans and the Na'vi and what that was like to be an explorer and living in that world."

And if you think Cameron is intent to end the Avatar series with four films, think again.

He's open to the idea of making additional prequel films after the initial one, saying, "Because when we drop in, even in the first film in Avatar 1, as it will be known in the future, we're dropping into a process that's 35 years in to a whole colonization."

He added, "That will complete an arc and if that leads into more, we'll start, not imitating Star Wars, but it's a logical thing to do because we'll have completed the thematic arc by the end of three. The only thing left to do is go back to see what it was like on those first expeditions and create some new characters that then become legacy characters in later films. It's a plan."

Read: 'Avatar 2' Will be Under Water?

Cameron has said in past interviews that Avatar 2 probably wouldn't land in theaters until 2015, so we still have a long wait ahead.

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