The announcement is out that James Cameron and 20th Century Fox are releasing Avatar in 2009.

The film is expected to be somewhere around US$200 million and will see the live action production beginning in April with WETA doing the extensive and leading edge CGI work.

The plot from IMDB:

In the future, Jake, a paraplegic war veteran, is brought to another planet, Pandora, which is inhabited by the Na'vi, a humanoid race with their own language and culture. Those from Earth find themselves at odds with each other and the local culture.

The announcement comes through Variety, and has me all excited. Cameron produces some excellent films, and I can't wait to see his hugely ambitious return to science fiction.