James Cameron should ostensibly be preoccupied with the four—count ‘em—Avatar sequels he has promised. However, even as he preps the future installments of his sci-fi epic, he apparently has enough time on his hands to make a docu-series for AMC about the history of the genre. The network announced Saturday that it has given the go ahead to what is currently being called James Cameron’s Story Of Science Fiction, which will consist of six episodes, each an hour in length. “With this series, we are going back to the origins of sci-fi, following the DNA of these ideas back to the source. Without Jules Verne and H.G. Wells there wouldn’t have been Ray Bradbury or Robert A. Heinlein, and without them, there wouldn’t be Lucas, Spielberg, Ridley Scott or me,” Cameron said in statement. “As a filmmaker who specializes in science fiction, I’m interested in exploring the struggles and the triumphs that brought these incredible stories to life and seeing how art imitates life, as well as how science fiction imitates and sometimes informs science.”
Cameron, in addition to executive producing, will be an on-camera participant, laying out the topics of discussion and chatting about his favorite works with his fellow practitioners. AMC has scheduled a premiere for 2018, which is rumored to be the year that the first Avatar follow-up is due in theaters. We aren’t in any position to question how the director spends his time, but it sounds like he’s got an awful lot to get done in the next year.