The first trailer of the third Avatar is officially upon us, and fans have a lot to look forward to. Director James Cameron launched the Avatar franchise way back in 2009, but it took 13 years for the second epic to be released - which proved a huge success, grossing $2.32 billion worldwide. The three-time Oscar-winning great - who we should point out scooped all three accolades in 1998 for Titanic that was released the year before - will shorten the gap between the second and third of the franchise to just three years. Yes, Avatar: Fire and Ash is earmarked for release on December 19. "From Director James Cameron, watch the trailer for Avatar: Fire and Ash," Avatar wrote on Twitter. "Experience the film only in theaters December 19." You can watch the trailer here: But the trilogy will be shortlived, with Avatar's fourth earmarked for 2029, and a fifth in 2031. Speaking about why he opted to make the second and third films in the franchise two separate movies playing out the same storyline, Cameron told Empire: "In a nutshell, we had too many great ideas packed into act one of movie 2. "The [film] was moving like a bullet train, and we weren’t drilling down enough on character. So I said, ‘Guys, we’ve got to split it'." Before teasing: "Movie three will actually be a little bit longer than movie two." The father-of-five explained how he's drawn a lot of inspiration from his own life, as did the other co-writers of the Avatar franchise. "These movies are a lot more than just propulsive plot and gorgeous spectacle. I mean, these are real characters," he continued. "These characters are amalgams of us, our childhoods, our role as parents, the mistakes we made, and probably to some extent continue to make as parents. I mean, Jake is a hard-ass motherf*cker. He’s very hard on his kids. Well, that’s me.” More to follow.