'Avatar 2' is delayed yet again, confirms James Cameron

That return trip to Pandora is getting postponed yet again.

Avatar director James Cameron has admitted that the projected 2018 release date for the sequel is "not happening." The filmmaker did not say when the new due date might be.

Plans for Avatar 2 were first announced in 2010, hot off the success of the first Avatar. At the time, 20th Century Fox hoped to have the second film in theaters by 2014. But the project's been delayed repeatedly since then, in part because it keeps expanding in scope. What was originally envisioned as a trilogy has now ballooned into a five-film franchise, with all four sequels expected to shoot simultaneously.

In theory, that means once Avatar 2 hits, Avatars 3 through 5 shouldn't be far behind. Cameron explained to the Toronto Star:

What people have to understand is that this is a cadence of releases. So we’re not making Avatar 2. We’re making Avatar 2, 3, 4 and 5. It’s an epic undertaking. It’s not unlike building the Three Gorges dam. (Laughs) So I know where I’m going to be for the next eight years of my life. It’s not an unreasonable time frame if you think about it. It took us four-and-a-half years to make one movie and now we’re making four.

Well, sure -- in that light, the lengthy gap between Avatar and Avatar 2 seems downright reasonable. The problem is that the longer it takes to get to Avatar 2, the more it (and all the sequels to follow) starts to look like a project that Cameron will tinker with for the rest of his life and never quite finish.

That said, of course, only a fool would bet against the director responsible for two of the biggest movies of all time (Avatar and Titanic). So consider us cautiously optimistic about the picture for now.

In the meantime, those desperate to reunite with the Na'vi should consider booking a trip to Disney World, which is all set to open doors on Pandora - The World of Avatar later this year.