With no solid release date for the The Last Airbender: Legend of Korra fans have had to make due with speculation, and the occasional still image. The best look we’ve had was the first 80-odd seconds of the first episode, and that was months ago. Now three new scenes, probably from the first episode, have leaked out onto these great wide interwebs, giving us the first look at Korra and her amazing bending abilities. I have to say, these clips seem to suggest a more action-oriented show, but hopefully one just as charming as the original series. The clips don’t seem very spoilery to me, except for a minor note, but watch at your own risk. See the videos, after the break.

“The 3-D shows you a window into reality. The higher frame rate takes the glass out of the window. In fact, it is just reality.”

James Cameron on where he plans to take his Avatar movie franchise: To a bold, new frontier of a higher frame rate, rather than a bold new frontier of doing something other than a boring, high-budget version of FernGully, where the environment is ripped straight from Final Fantasy X and the Na’vi are actually the bad guys when you think about it. Yeah, I went there.

(via The A.V. Club)

Ever since that James Cameron movie quietly hit the box office, people who want to talk about Avatar: The Last Airbender have had to be specific. So: This is the first official look we’ve gotten at the face of Korra, the heroine of Avatar: The Legend of Korra, the greenlit miniseries and sequel to the Airbender series, which is happening despite the schlock and awe of M. Knight Shyamalan‘s The Last Airbender movie.

Seven major castmembers have been announced today, as well as the characters they will be playing.

>>>Full details at The Mary Sue.

Avatar director and pioneering submariner James Cameron has announced that he has signed a deal with Fox to direct both Avatar 2 and Avatar 3. The films are slated for release in December 2014 and December 2015, respectively.

Cameron’s statement:

It is a rare and remarkable opportunity when a filmmaker gets to build a fantasy world, and watch it grow, with the resources and partnership of a global media company. AVATAR was conceived as an epic work of fantasy – a world that audiences could visit, across all media platforms, and this moment marks the launch of the next phase of that world. With two new films on the drawing boards, my company and I are embarking on an epic journey with our partners at Twentieth Century Fox. Our goal is to meet and exceed the global audience’s expectations for the richness of AVATAR’s visual world and the power of the storytelling. In the second and third films, which will be self contained stories that also fulfill a greater story arc, we will not back off the throttle of AVATAR’s visual and emotional horsepower, and will continue to explore its themes and characters, which touched the hearts of audiences in all cultures around the world. I’m looking forward to returning to Pandora, a world where our imaginations can run wild.

No new word on plot or shooting details beyond what we’ve already heard.

(THR via Bleeding Cool)

Add another item to the list of things that George Lucas will do to beat one last round of cash out of his “once beloved accidental masterpiece.”

In a move that we’re much more familiar coming out of big studios who wouldn’t know artistic motivation if it kicked them in the pants, Lucas will be re-releasing all six Star Wars movies to theaters in 3-D, beginning in 2012 with Episode I: The Phantom Menace.   According to The Hollywood Reporter, he was inspired by Avatar.  (Not The Last Airbender.)

20th Century Fox must be pinching themselves.

James Cameron has been saying for a while now that he’s going to build a submarine and visit the bottom of the Mariana Trench, and now we know why.

Other than, you know, the thrill of discovery and being a part of the second team in history to do it, and the first in fifty years.

He’s going to take some stock footage for Avatar 2.

Rumors about a fabled fourth season of Avatar: The Last Airbender have gained traction and number with the release of M. Night Shyamalan‘s movie, with willful disregard for the actual cinematic worth of the film. Nickelodeon confirmed them all today, with a press statement announcing the production of Avatar: The Legend of Korra, which will pick up the Avatar plot seventy years later, with the Avatar who comes after Aang, a Southern Water Tribe girl (Korra) who has already mastered Water, Earth and Fire.

Her quest leads her to the epicenter of the modern “Avatar” world, Republic City – a metropolis that is fueled by steampunk technology. It is a virtual melting pot where benders and non-benders from all nations live and thrive. However, Korra discovers that Republic City is plagued by crime as well as a growing anti-bending revolution that threatens to rip it apart. Under the tutelage of Aang’s son, Tenzin, Korra begins her airbending training while dealing with the dangers at large.

*ahem*

Squeeeeeee.

So there’s an Avatar: The Last Airbender movie, and, according to reliable sources, it sucks.

FORGET ABOUT THAT.

There’s an Avatar: The Last Airbender cartoon, and it is still totally awesome.  By way of reinforcement, I give you my three favorite questions that were left completely unanswered over the course the series.  I’ll try to keep it to a level where non-fans can enjoy as well, but I won’t be able to do it without some spoilers.  If you’re only part-way through the series, or plan on watching it later, consider yourself warned.

So director James Cameron isn’t going to crawl under a rock for another 13 years (the epoch that transpired between Titanic and Avatar): In March, he was spotted filming a “top secret outdoor concert” of the Black Eyed Peas to celebrate Samsung‘s 3D LED TV campaign launch, covered in not-so-top-secret depth by various blogs. Now, it appears, Cameron is on board to direct an entire 3D concert documentary for the Black Eyed Peas’ World Tour.

Band frontman will.i.am, not to be out done by Cameron’s “I’m the king of the world!” Titanic Oscar speech, told VIBE: “Right now, we are planning our 3D tour movie, and James Cameron is directing it – we have the biggest director, because we are the biggest group on the planet.”