LOS ANGELES >> James Cameron is planning two sequels to his sci-fi sensation “Avatar.”

Executives at 20th Century Fox announced Wednesday that Cameron plans to start work on the scripts early next year, aiming to being production in late 2011.

The studio hopes to have the first of the as-yet-untitled sequels in theaters in December 2014, with the third movie in the franchise following in December 2015. Cameron will decide whether to shoot the sequels simultaneously after he completes the scripts.

“Avatar” follows the adventures of a man in alien form (Sam Worthington) who falls for a 10-foot, blue-skinned native (Zoe Saldana) of the distant moon Pandora, where greedy humans wage war over the land’s natural resources.