New York, Aug 2 (IANS): Director James Cameron has announced three sequels to his 2009 hit "Avatar".

"Avatar" 2, 3 and 4 will be shot simultaneously, with production kicking off next year, and they will be released in December of 2016, 2017 and 2018, respectively, reports eonline.com.

The 58-year-old has called aboard screenwriters Josh Friedman of "War of the Worlds", Shane Salerno from the movie "Savages", Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver from "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" to help him work on the three scripts.

"Building upon the world we created with 'Avatar' has been a rare and incredibly rewarding experience," Cameron said in a statement.

"In writing the new films, I've come to realise that 'Avatar's' world, story and characters have become even richer than I anticipated, and it became apparent that two films would not be enough to capture everything I wanted to put on screen. And to help me continue to expand this universe, I'm pleased to bring aboard Amanda, Rick, Shane and Josh - all writers I've long admired - to join me in completing the films' screenplays," he added.