Hours after it was announced that James Cameron's 3D sci-fi epic Avatar had been given the greenlight (related story: Avatar and The Most Expensive Movies of All Time), Paramount has announced that Sixth Sense director M. Night Shyamalan will also be directing Avatar. How's that for a twist?

Shyamalan's Avatar is not related to Cameron's Avatar. Confused? Good.

Shyamalan's movie is a big screen adaptation of the popular Nickelodoen television series. Originally slated to begin airing November of 2004, Avatar: The Last Airbender debuted on TV on February 21, 2005. Avatar: The Last Airbender is set in "an Asian-influenced fantasy world permeated by martial arts and magic, follows the adventures of the successor to a long line of Avatars who must put aside his irresponsible ways and stop the Fire Nation from enslaving the Water, Earth and Air nations," according to Variety. The show receives high ratings in the Nicktoons lineup, even outside its intended 6-to-11-year-old demographic.

Here's where it starts to get nasty: Fox is claiming ownership of the Avatar movie title.

"We own the movie title 'Avatar.' There won't be another film called 'Avatar' coming from anyplace," said a Fox rep.

Paramount shot back that the title "Avatar: The Last Airbender" has already been registered with the Motion Picture Association of America.

It makes me wonder if Fox announced the Cameron project to beat out Paramount's release, or if Paramount was forced to announce the Shyamalan project when Fox announced Cameron's film. Either way I have a feeling that we're not going to hear the end of this movie title business anytime soon.

Avatar: The Last Airbender marks the first project that Shyamalan will helm not based on his own source material. The hit director will pen the script and also produce.

Related Story: Avatar and The Most Expensive Movies of All Time