James Cameron has thrilled Avatar fans by confirming there will be three sequels to the ground-breaking 2009 original.

The Titanic director has abandoned all his other movie projects to concentrate on creating follow-ups to the record-breaking smash hit, which became the highest-grossing film in Hollywood history with takings of $2.7 billion worldwide.

He has been shooting deep sea footage for a second Avatar film, which will be set underwater, and hinted earlier this year (13) he could be tempted to make four films altogether.

Cameron has now announced his plans for a trilogy of sequels is set in stone, after coming up with a wealth of content during the production process.

He says, "Building upon the world we created with Avatar has been a rare and incredibly rewarding experience. 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."

20th Century Fox chairman Jim Gianopoulos adds, "We at the studio have no higher priority, and can feel no greater joy, than enabling Jim to continue and expand his vision of the world of Avatar. The growing breadth and scale of Jim Cameron's plans for his magnificent fantasy worlds continue to amaze us all."

The three films will be shot simultaneously, and will hit cinemas in 2016, 2017 and 2018.