Avatar Sequels Slated to Film in New Zealand

Now that Peter Jackson's six-film J.R.R. Tolkien epic is nearing what we all assume to be its end, New Zealand's film commission won't have a massive fantasy tentpole filming there for the first time in years. Wait, scratch that. James Cameron will bring all three Avatar sequels to New Zealand, taking advantage of the Kiwi government's generous tax incentives. It's not much of a surprise; the first Avatar filmed mostly in Wellington, and shortly after the film's release Cameron bought quite a bit of land not far from there. It's been widely assumed that he would be shooting on that land. The massive success of Cameron's franchise entertainment like Terminator, as well as stand-alone films like Titanic, have given him sufficient revenue to basically make his films how he likes and then dictate those terms to the studios who distribute the work to the masses.