James Cameron has likened the 'Avatar' sequels to "episodic television".
The 68-year-old director has helmed the long-awaited blockbuster 'Avatar: The Way of Water' and confirmed that a number of sequels are planned for the coming years to make sure that the sci-fi franchise stays fresh in the memories of audiences.
Speaking to TheWrap, James said: "We know exactly what we're doing. We know what these movies are gonna be. We just have to go through the process of getting them done. So ideally two years from now, ('Avatar 3') comes out, ideally maybe three years after that ('Avatar 4') comes out, and then ideally maybe a couple years after that ('Avatar 5') comes out."
The 'Titanic' filmmaker continued: "If they're gonna invest in these characters, if they're gonna invest in this world, we want to give it to them at a regular cadence. That was the game plan.
"(The collective films are) really one big story, but it's like episodic television. Each one has its own proximal resolution. The character problems continue across the cut."
James admits that he does "mourn some of the stories" that he has not been able to put on the big screen as he has devoted years to the 'Avatar' series.
Asked if he feels bad that he never got to tell the other stories, Cameron told Empire magazine: "Two thoughts in answer to your question: the first is that the world of Avatar is so sprawling that I can tell most of the stories I want to tell within it and try many of the stylistic techniques that I hope to explore.
"And secondly, yes… our time as artists is finite. I will always mourn some of the stories that I don’t get to make. But I feel a great satisfaction when other directors want to explore some of my ideas, like Kathryn Bigelow did with 'Strange Days', and Robert Rodriguez did when I passed him the baton on 'Alita: Battle Angel'. I look forward to more collaborations in the future with directors I admire."
