After Avatar broke box office records in 2009 and 2010, everyone knew a sequel was coming, but no one expected a whopping four sequels to be on the way. Producer Jon Landau confirmed at the CineEurope conference last month that the Avatar sequels start production on September 25, and now franchise star Sigourney Weaver has revealed that she has read all four scripts, and that they are all extraordinary. Here's what she had to say in a new interview, adding there is a perfect explanation as to why there turned out to be four sequels.

"There's a very good reason why it turned out to be four sequels. Having read all four of them, I think they're absolutely extraordinary and worth the wait. These films are very much about the peril of this beautiful planet, and (James Cameron) is continuing the same themes of greed and callousness of the corporations and plight of the indigenous people. At this point after a long and very satisfying career, I can't believe it's been 40 years, but anyway, I'm very excited to be able to work on these four stories. I can really, really appreciate it."

Sigourney Weaver still wouldn't reveal how her character Dr. Grace Augustine will return in these Avatar sequels, since her character died in the first Avatar, but she did discuss the production schedule a bit in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. The actress confirmed that Avatar 2 and Avatar 3 are being shot simultaneously, although she wouldn't comment on production plans for Avatar 4 and Avatar 5, which are also expected to shoot back-to-back. Here's what she had to say, calling these sequels the "most ambitious" project she has ever been a part of.

"I love the way we're doing them, we're kind of doing 2 and 3 simultaneously and it's going to work very well. A lot of the heavy lifting has already been done in 1, opening up the world and the characters and everything and I think that Jim has had a wonderful time writing these four, and it's going to be very exciting bringing them to life. It's the most ambitious project by far I've ever been involved in, and the most moving, the most astonishing, beautiful. I think all of us who get to be a part of it are just in awe when we see the artwork. It's just incredible to be living now when we can bring this kind of film experience to the public. Because I think as much as Avatar changed what people want in a film experience, this goes a hundred times farther."

Sigourney Weaver will be joined by returning Avatar stars Sam Worthington (Jake Sully), Zoe Saldana (Neytiri), Joel David Moore (Norm Spellman) and Stephen Lang (Colonel Miles Quaritch). They will be joined by newcomers Cliff Curtis as Tonowari, the leader of reef clan known as the Metkayina, with Oona Chaplin coming aboard to play a character known as Varang, who will appear in all four sequels. Avatar 2 is slated for release on December 18, 2020, with Avatar 3 arriving on December 17, 2021, Avatar 4 hitting theaters on Dec. 20, 2024, and Avatar 5 arriving on December 19, 2025.