James Cameron has already made plans for 6th and 7th Avatar films

James Cameron has already made plans for the sixth and seventh Avatar films.

The 69-year-old director has the future of the epic sci-franchise mapped out until the release of Avatar 5 in 2031 and revealed that he has ideas beyond that - even though he is likely to have stepped away from directorial duties by then.

James told People magazine at the Saturn Awards on Sunday (Feb 4): "We're fully written through movie five, and I've got ideas for six and seven, although I'll probably be handing the baton on at that point.

"I mean, mortality catches up. But I mean, we're enjoying what we're doing. We're loving it. We get to work with great people."

Cameron - whose flick Avatar: The Way of Water picked up four awards at the ceremony in Los Angeles - explained that he wants the Avatar franchise to match the popularity of sci-fi behemoths Star Wars and Star Trek.

The Titanicfilmmaker said: "Star Trek, Star Wars, the world-building franchises that have been around since I was a kid, those were my inspirations.

"And as I was saying out there, we're still a young universe. We're only two movies in, we're halfway through our third right now. To have that kind of cultural impact over time, you got to pour all your heart and energy into it."

Cameron added: "People are always asking us, 'So why did you just keep working on the same...' Why did [George] Lucas keep working on the same thing? Why did [Gene] Roddenberry keep working on the same thing?

"Because when you connect with people, why would you squander that? Why would you start over with something else that might not connect?"

Avatar producer Jon Landau added that there are "more stories to tell" in the record-breaking franchise.

He said: "I mean, it's not like we're trying to come up with stories. He's (Cameron) got the stories and we took the time to lay it out across all four sequels."

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