Avatar was released.
Avatar ( marketed as James Cameron 's Avatar ) is a 2009 American epic science fiction film directed , written , produced , and co-edited by James Cameron , and starring Sam Worthington , Zoe Saldana , Stephen Lang , Michelle Rodriguez , and Sigourney Weaver . Following the film 's success , Cameron signed with 20th Century Fox to produce three sequels , making Avatar the first of a planned tetralogy .