Avatar 4 is really happening, and is apparently well underway

Yes, you read that right: Avatar 4. As in, one whole sequel past the upcoming Avatar: The Way Of Water, a check-in with James Cameron’s family our favorite gangly blue friends Jake and Neytiri that famously languished for 13 years. So we’ll see you all in 2048 for the release party, right? We’ll bring the bladder polyps!

Well, it might not actually take that long this time, at least according to producer Jon Landau. At a press conference at the Busan International Film Festival on Thursday, he revealed that “most of the first act of Avatar 4" had already been completed, per Variety. There were, apparently, “logistical reasons we needed to do that.” (Could it have something to do with the fact that climate change could sink Avatar’s beloved merch-machine in Orlando before 2048? We’re just speculating here.)

“We’ve designed most of the whole movie for Avatar 4 but we haven’t actually filmed all of it—just the first act,” he continued.

If it seems like James Cameron is recklessly rushing into this after letting his creative juices simmer for so long on the first sequel, don’t panic just yet. There is a precedent here. Avatar 3 (which is still unnamed) was filmed back-to-back with Avatar: The Way Of Water and will release sometime in 2024.

We don’t know much about the actual plots of Avatars 3 and 4 yet, but Landau did reveal that they will each explore a different part of the Pandora universe. “With each sequel, we’re going to introduce audiences to new cultures and new biomes. We don’t leave behind the cultures that we’ve met,” he said.

In the meantime, you can quench your seemingly insatiable Avatar thirst on the big screen with the OG film’s currently-running theatrical re-release. Avatar: The Way Of Water premieres December 16.