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James Cameron has made up his mind. He can’t get Avatar out of his head. And he’s doing the right thing, shooting two sequels to Avatar (possibly back to back), because he’s going to give audiences more of what they want.

It may be a no-brainer but it's officially official now: Avatar 2 and Avatar 3 are happening, and are set for release in 2014 and 2015 after shooting back-to-back, with production set to start next year.

James Cameron officially, 100% announced today that they will be his next films, but has not yet confirmed titles or any other details.

The news means that we have some exciting Christmases lined up for the next few years. This year we've got the new Narnia and Tron; next year it's Puss In Boots and Sherlock Holmes 2, then there's two years of The Hobbit planned for 2012 and 2013, and after that two Decembers rich in Avatar.

It's like Santa's pulling the strings at Hollywood's big studios.

Cameron will get cracking on the scripts for the two films early in 2011 (he already has loads of leftover material from his first go-round, which took a decade to write), and has set his sights on starting production later in the year, but won’t decide on a final shooting schedule for the two films until he finishes the script:

“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,” James said in a statement to Access Hollywood. “‘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,” James continued. “I’m looking forward to returning to Pandora, a world where our imaginations can run wild.”

Cameron and his partner Jon Landau will produce for Lightstorm Entertainment.

“Avatar” is the highest grossing film of all time, taking in nearly $2.8 billion in worldwide box office. It is also the top-selling Blu-ray disc of all time. The film won Golden Globe awards for Best Motion Picture and Best Director; and was nominated for nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, and won Oscars for art direction, visual effects and cinematography.

Rest assured that we'll be keeping an eye on this one as it goes forward.