James Cameron has started filming on the next four Avatar movies, which reportedly have a combined budget of over $1 billion. After years of delays, the sequels are finally moving forward. Cameron is returning to direct all four films, with a plan currently in place to film Avatar 2 and Avatar 3 back-to-back, followed up by Avatar 4 and Avatar 5 in the same fashion.

Despite doubts as to the franchise’s ability to sustain four sequels, the potential rewards are there for Fox after the first grossed a record $2.8 billion worldwide. After that kind of success and Cameron’s track record as a filmmaker, it’s no surprise that a budget of that size would be in place for the four films.

Source: Press Release