Merrick here...
MTV talked to James Cameron, who reveled that his interest in (and dedication to) his long-gestating live action adaptation of the BATTLE ANGEL ALITA manga is unwavering...but his two AVATAR sequels come first.
"I see the good the 'Avatar' franchise can do in terms of keeping a world audience cognizant of our relationship with nature, but doing it in an entertainment context," he said. "Ultimately I think there's more good to be done there than with 'Battle Angel.' 'Battle Angel' is just a great, kick ass story."
When asked if he'd be willing to relinquish ALITA so that a new director could take the picture, Cameron quickly responded...
"It would have to be pried out of my cold dead fingers," he said. "But on the other hand, I don't want to take it to my grave either..."
While development and prep has been happening on the AVATAR sequels for some time now, it's gonna be a while before those pictures move into full swing. Considering the gargantuan technical requirements of the projects, estimating their arrival on screens may prove imprecise at best. While some reports suggest the two sequels will arrive late in 2014 and 2015, this recent interview with Producer Jon Landau pointedly asserts: "we're going to release the movies when they're ready..."
So there you go.
More from Cameron over at MTV, HERE.
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