'Avatar' comics: Series in development by Dark Horse Comics

Avatar comic books by Dark Horse ComicsDark Horse Comics

While director James Cameron is busy working on three sequels to 2009's "Avatar," production studio Lightstorm Entertainment will be collaborating with Dark Horse Comics to produce a new line of "Avatar" comic books that will tell new stories set in the same cinematic universe of the films.

As per the Hollywood Reporter, James Cameron presented the news via a video presentation during the recent New York Comic Con panel for "Avatar 2." 

"Even with three sequel in the works, we still have more stories we want to tell. So Lightstorm will be working in partnership with Dark Horse Comics to reveal new storylines from the past, present and the future world of Avatar," explained Cameron.

It is also pointed out that this is not the first time Dark Horse Comics has collaborated with James Cameron in expanding the worlds of his films. The comic book publisher has previously worked on comic books based on the "Terminator," "Aliens" and "The Abyss" franchises.

However, as stated in a report from /Film, the world of "Avatar" gives Dark Horse Comics more freedom to craft their own characters and stories. "Terminator" and "Aliens" were primarily restricted by the strict timeline of events set in the films but this is no longer an issue with "Avatar."

The report also states that it is possible some of the new locations, characters and events that take place in the new comic books may appear in "Avatar 2" and its two follow up films. 

Expanding the cinematic universe of "Avatar" using both films and comic books is not new as both "Man of Steel" and even the television series "Heroes" had their own tie-in comic books.

The Dark Horse Comics "Avatar" tie-in series has no official release date as of the time being. However, "Avatar 2" is scheduled to release in late 2017 with "Avatar 3" following in 2018 and "Avatar 4" in 2019.