"Star Wars" is coming back. "Jurassic Park" is back. We know that a plethora of other major franchises are coming back, and among them are the sequels to the highest grossing film of all time.

According to Variety, "Avatar 2" is slated for a December 2017 release date. Back in June it was reported that director James Cameron was taking production of the film at his own pace.

The film is slated to take place underwater, something the director confirmed a few years ago.

"The fact that we're basically overfishing, climate change ... a few degrees of temperature rise are gonna basically take out the coral reefs," he stated back in 2012 regarding what to expect from the film. "All those beautiful images of the coral environments we all grew up with won't exist in 50 years at the rate we're going in terms of pumping greenhouse gases into the environment. These are the things that concern me."

Cameron is known for his meticulous filmmaking, as well as his long breaks between major projects. After directing Titanic in 1997, the director engaged in a couple of side projects outside of mainstream cinema. He made a TV movie, worked on "Dark Angel" for one episode, and then created three documentaries, before returning to "Avatar" and ushering in a new era of 3D filmmaking.

"Avatar" was the most successful film of all time, topping Cameron's success with "Titanic," which held the spot for over a decade. "Avatar" not only raked in $760 million domestically and $2.7 billion internationally, but it also earned nominations for nine Academy Awards, winning accolades for Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography and Best Visual Effects.

The sequels will be released one year apart, with 2018 bringing the third installment and 2019 showcasing the fourth. It should be interesting to see if Cameron can sustain interest in consecutive years and even come close to the box office feats of his initial franchise builder. It should also be interesting to see how "Avatar" competes with the "Star Wars" movies, which will also be releasing major installments during that same time period.