"Avatar 2," the much-awaited sequel to James Cameron's 2009 Avatar film was reported to have finally set its filming date. This is great news for fans who have been waiting for the follow-up movie for almost eight years now. With the production date in place, it just means that the movie is really happening now.

Reports revealed that "Avatar 2" filming is starting in summer of this year. According to MSN News, My Entertainment World, the online publication that provides information on filming schedules and locations, the shooting for the sequel will start on Aug. 15.

As for the locations, only Manhattan Beach, California was mentioned. So far, there is still no word whether the artists and filming crew are flying to New Zealand where the original movie was filmed.

Although neither James Cameron nor Fox has made any official announcement yet, the mentioned source which is MEW is said to be a reliable one. Thus, it seems that it will not be long when "Avatar 2" fans will see the enchanting Pandora again.

Now, as the production is finally on the roll, many say that "Avatar 2" will be able to make its target premiere on Dec. 25. However, no one from the production team has ever confirmed this date yet as well.

Last year, James Cameron shared that the delay of "Avatar" sequel is due to some changes in the story. It was revealed that when the script writing started, the Canadian filmmaker realized the movie has a lot more stories to tell so it was eventually expanded to four more sequels. This means, there will be a total of five Avatar movies in all and four are coming to theaters soon.

Moreover, the producer/director also recently talked about the fact that all of the scripts for the follow-up stories are done already. In his interview with The Daily Beast, Cameron was asked how "Avatar 2" is coming along and he replied, "The thing is, my focus isn't on Avatar 2. My focus is on Avatar 2, 3, 4, and 5 equally. That's exactly how I'm approaching it."

He further explained that all four sequels are being developed equally and shared that he just completed the script of "Avatar 5." Right now, the popular director said that he is busy with production preparations and "working with the actors in the capture volume in August," hence he is fully booked from now until then.

Finally, the plot of "Avatar 2" has been kept a secret until now so no exact details are available. As for the characters, the original cast including Sigourney Weaver, Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana and Stephen Lang have all been confirmed to return in the sequel.

Tags: avatar avatar 2 Avatar 2 Premiere James Cameron Avatar 2 Release Date Avatar 2 Filming