"Avatar 2" was announced almost six years ago and has been under production since 2014. It is only natural for fans of the futuristic sci-fi epic to lose patience as they are not being updated on what's happening with the franchise. And in time, the mastermind of this project, James Cameron, decided to give his fans a lowdown on what was happening.

The director in his recent interview not only confirmed the release date of "Avatar 2", but also updated about the progress of the rest of the sequels -- Avatar 3 and 4. The director also admitted that he is experiencing "more than a touch of performance anxiety the second time around".

His previous film "Avatar" scored nine Oscar nominations and earned more than $2.7 billion around the globe, it's only natural that the director is feeling the pressure to set it all right before he gets the ball rolling for Avatar 2, 3 and 4. It has already been reported that the writing process for all the sequels is happening simultaneously to ensure the story's continuity.

So much is the creative pressure that James is reportedly going over and again reviewing with the scripts and design process and make sure there are no holes in any department. It sounds like that's a good game plan.

"I'm in the process of doing another pass through all three scripts right now. Just refining. That's in parallel with the design process. The design process is very mature at this point. We've been designing for about a year and a half. All the characters, settings and creatures are all pretty much set," Cameron told Entertainment Weekly during a recent phone interview.

But when asked whether the process of research and development has become easier since he has already gone through the drill while directing "Avatar", James admitted, "No; because you have to challenge yourself. Obviously, expectations are going to be very high on these films, especially on "Avatar 2", to make sure it wasn't just some big fluke the first time. So we've got to deliver. I've created a nice rod for my own back, so they say."

Now, we will know how James Cameron's trick to make his franchise successful works only when the 20th Century Fox upcoming film "Avatar 2", releases in December 2017. "Avatar" 3 and 4 are expected to be released in 2018 and 2019, respectively.

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