James Cameron is running full steam ahead on the Avatar franchise. Cameron filmed Avatar: The Way of Water and Avatar 3 back to back because he wanted to avoid something he called the "Stranger Things effect."

Cameron's Avatar: The Way of Water is a continuation of 2009's Avatar, a sci-fi tale about a marine named Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) who lands on an alien planet in an attempt to colonize it. Though Avatar: The Way of Water took a long time to come out (13 years) future installments of the franchise will probably not have as long of a wait. Avatar 3 has already been filmed.

RELATED: Avatar 2: What Happened in The Way of Water?

In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, Cameron revealed that he had to shoot Avatar: The Way of Water, Avatar 3, and the first act of Avatar 4 back to back for practical reasons: the child actors were growing too fast. "Otherwise, you get — and I love Stranger Things — but you get the Stranger Things effect where they're supposed to still be in high school [but] they look like they're 27," Cameron explained. "You know, I love the show. It's okay, we'll suspend disbelief. We like the characters, but, you know."

Evil be like meme filter on Avatar: The Way of Water Jake Sully

Cameron also explained that each movie would expand the Avatar lore. "Each movie is going to introduce audiences to new clans, new cultures on Pandora," Cameron said. "Once we introduce a character, they stay a part of the ongoing evolution. We just add to it. So you can expect to see the Metkayina that you meet in this movie in subsequent movies. There are other clans that we'll introduce in movie 3 that you'll see in movie 4 and so on and so forth."

Ironically, Sigourney Weaver went back to high school for her role in Avatar: The Way of Water. Though she's 73 in real life, Weaver plays Kiri, a character who's about 14 or 15 years old, using motion capture technology. Weaver said it was a bit difficult getting into the role of a teenager again, but she found it an interesting challenge.

Though it hasn't been filmed yet, comments from producer Jon Landau revealed that Avatar 5 will involve the Na'vi on Earth. That'll be interesting to see on multiple levels, one of which involves Neytiri. Zoe Saldaña said Neytiri's attitude towards humans is quite negative for understandable reasons. Landau's comments specified that Neytiri would be on Earth in the fifth installment, and her prejudices would be challenged.

Avatar: The Way of Water is now in theaters.

MORE: How Avatar: The Way of Water's Ending Leads Into Avatar 3

Source: Entertainment Weekly