Steven Charles Gould, the science fiction author most known for “Jumper,” has been approached by filmmaker James Cameron to writer four standalone novels based on and expanding on Cameron’s history-making 2009 film Avatar, as well as Cameron’s stories for his three upcoming “Avatar” sequels.
Cameron announced that he would expand the Avatar universe and Pandora with as many as three sequels. He is currently writing the screenplays for the next installments in the franchise, along with screenwriters Josh Friedman (War of the Worlds), Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver (Rise of the Planets of the Apes) and Shane Salerno (Savages, Salinger).
Cameron spoke about Gould saying,
“Steven Gould is one of the shining lights in contemporary science fiction, and I’ve long admired the worlds and characters he’s created in his books and stories. We’re very fortunate to have Steven bring his formidable talents to the ‘Avatar’ universe. He is already working closely with me and the screenwriters to flesh out the expanding world of ‘Avatar.'”
Gould’s 1992 novel, “Jumper,” was previously made into a film by Twentieth Century Fox and New Regency. He also has been critically acclaimed for his short fiction such as his Hugo Award-nominated short story “Rory,” and the novelette “Peaches for Mad Molly” (which is currently on the shortlist for The Nebula Award.)
Kathy Franklin, Lightstorm Entertainment’s President of Franchise Development, noted,
“The novels are just one example of our commitment to our fans to extend the world of ‘Avatar,’ in this instance in partnership with Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products.”
The sequels will be filmed back-to-back with production beginning next year. The release of the first sequel will be in December 2016, with the second to follow in December 2017, and the third a year later.
There is no word yet on when the novels will be released.
