14 Apr – James Cameron, the director of "Avatar" has revealed that its two most awaited sequels will be filmed in Manhattan Beach, California, according to an exclusive insight by The Hollywood Reporter.
According to the report, James Cameron and 20th Century Fox have signed a lease for 580,000 square foot of area, in which a production studio and office will be built along with 15 sound stages at the MBS Media Campus in California.
It also adds that, it will also be housing Cameron's new production office, Lightstorm Entertainment, which is to be permanently moved from Santa Monica to Manhattan.
So far, no plotlines have been revealed other than the fact that majority of the movie will be filmed underwater. Initially the sequel was supposed to be filmed at Mariana Trench in South-East of Japan, but production was postponed due to the earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan.
Cameron also notes that fans will be able to see some familiar faces return in the sequels. "Basically, if you survived the first film, you get to be in the second film; at least in some form," said the director, further hinting the very likely return of the first movie's protagonists, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana).
The yet to be named sequels, "Avatar 2" and "Avatar 3", will be shot back-to-back and are scheduled to hit the theaters in December 2014 and December 2015 respectively.