The first "Avatar" was a brilliant, imaginative cinematic masterpiece that changed the sci-fi landscape when it was first launched. While it may be a monumental challenge to top this achievement, director James Cameron continues to aim for the stars -- or very distant planets -- in the sequels and beyond.

The award-winning director talked to Entertainment Weekly about the much-awaited sequel of "Avatar", confirming that "Avatar 2" is currently being ironed out by the producers and himself. It's a long process, but much of the creation of the world has already been finalized.

"I'm in the process of doing another pass through all three scripts right now," he said. "Just refining. That's in parallel with the design process. The design process is very mature at this point. We've been designing for about a year and a half. All the characters, settings and creatures are all pretty much [set]."

A franchise as wildly successful as "Avatar" is a massive undertaking, but one would think the second go at it would be much easier than the first. Not so, according to the acclaimed director. Getting on board with the sequel is just as -- if not more -- challenging than the original.

"No," Cameron said. "Because you have to challenge yourself. Obviously, expectations are going to be very high on these films, especially on 'Avatar 2', to make sure it wasn't just some big fluke the first time. So we've got to deliver. I've created a nice rod for my own back, so they say."

The "Avatar" franchise will reportedly be a trilogy and filmed concurrently. "Avatar 2" is slated to be released in theaters in 2017.

The universe of the franchise is still growing since the original debut of the first film. In early 2014, the "Avatar" theme park attraction will be making its way to Disney's Animal Kingdom and fans can immerse themselves in the vivid, lush world of Pandora, according to a report from Coming Soon.

"I think one of the things that people loved about the movie is that they felt as if they had visited Pandora," Cameron explained earlier this year. "Now, thanks to Disney's amazing Imagineers, people are going to truly experience Pandora firsthand. From the details in the plants to the production and design, extraordinary thought and care has gone into this entire world. The teams have really created something special, and it's not going to be like anything else."