The photo to the right has been circulating around the web for a couple days now, but I have decided until now, not to post it because I believed it to be fake. Tonight, all the major movie websites are running with the photo, so I thought, what the hell. So what is the photo of?

Unknown sources are claiming that the photo is of an indigenous alien race called the Na’vi from James Cameron’s upcoming $190+ million super-epic 3D performance-capture/live action/animation hybrid Avatar. The original treatment for Avatar described the Na’vi as tall and blue, so this very well could be conceptual art for the species, however, I’m hoping that isn’t the case. To me it looks like a combination of Angelina Jolie as Grendal’s mother (from Beowulf), and the cult classic Disney film TRON. Click on the image to enlarge.

Avatar follows a paraplegic war veteran named Jake, who is summoned to a planet inhabited by  a primitive alien race, in order to help exploit the planet’s resources. Humans are able to create Avatars, genetically engineered copies of the aliens, that they are able to control. Jake unexceptionally falls in love with one of the alien creatures. Written by Cameron eleven years ago as an 80-page treatment, Avatar will be released in Digital 3D on May 22, 2009.

I’m really hoping that Cameron’s Avatar is something innovative and special, but this just looks like more of the same. I’ll keep you updated, but for now, I’m hoping this isn’t legit. What do you guys think?