James Cameron Producing 'Avatar' Cirque Du Soleil Show, The Group's First-Ever Movie Show

Five years have passed since audiences were first transported to Pandora in James Cameron's Avatar. Since then, hype surrounding the highest-grossing film of all time has subsided a bit. But, with three sequels coming between 2016 and 2018, the writer/director is preparing to bombard the world with his vision once again.

We know an Avatar Land is in the works for Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom and now Cameron is teaming up with Cirque du Soleil to create a live-action, touring show based on the film. It will be Cirque's first movie-themed show ever.

Cameron and Cirque teamed up for the 2012 film Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away, so this isn't necessarily a surprising development. What's cooler about it than anything is maybe it opens the door to more movie themed Cirque shows. Music superstars like The Beatles, Michael Jackson and Elvis all have shows. Why not something like Star Wars or Lord of the Rings? Once again, Cameron opens doors.

Here's the full press release which includes quotes from Cameron and others. Expect the show to open late next year and tour through the 2016 release of Avatar 2.

Daniel Lamarre, President and CEO of Cirque du Soleil and James Cameron announced a new partnership to develop an arena-touring show inspired by the world of Cameron's history-making motion picture, Avatar. This "live experience" is expected to debut late 2015 for what will become a global touring schedule.The announcement was made in Montreal during the international business C2MTL– Commerce + Creativity Conference.The live production will feature the creative signature drive of Cirque du Soleil in association with Cameron's and Jon Landau's Lightstorm Entertainment. The show is expected to debut before the first of three upcoming Avatar sequels, for which Cameron is currently in pre-production. Twentieth Century Fox, which financed and distributed Avatar, will bring the new films to theaters around the world and is also a partner on the live show."Our relationship with Jim Cameron began with my visit at his 'Avatar' cutting room", explained Daniel Lamarre. "I am thrilled that almost 5 years later, Cirque du Soleil will be able to explore the very inspirational 'Avatar' realm for the live stage. This will mark our second creative project with Jim and I believe it will be as stimulating for both our creative forces.""Over the years, I have discovered the extraordinary talents and imaginations of both the artists and the creative forces behind Cirque du Soleil," said James Cameron. "I know we share the common goal of bringing audiences to another level of entertainment experiences. I look forward to doing just that on this project.""Audiences around the globe have embraced 'Avatar' and we believe they will want to experience this amazing world in an entirely new way," commented Kathy Franklin, President of Franchise Development at Lightstorm Entertainment."'Avatar' remains a phenomenon that continues to inspire people around the globe, and combining it with the live event ingenuity of Cirque de Soleil is a perfect synthesis of imagination and talent," said Jim Gianopulos, Chairman and CEO, 20th Century Fox. "As Jim Cameron prepares to take us to even greater heights with three new 'Avatar' films, we're thrilled with the innovative experience he's developing in this groundbreaking agreement with Cirque de Soleil."Creative forces from Cirque du Soleil and Lightstorm Entertainment will meet and put in place a dedicated creative team, which will be announced at a later date.