TITANIC - CAMERON WAITS 10 YEARS FOR SCI-FI BLOCKBUSTER

Taking a break from the film industry nowadays generally means a couple of months in a rehab clinic. But as TITANIC director JAMES CAMERON has simply been taking it easy for the last nine years since scooping 11 Oscars for the sinking boat film, he has now decided it's time to go back behind the camera.

And his return couldn't be further from the icy Atlantic scenes of TITANIC's love story, as his first big-screen adventure is to be a state-of-the-art science fiction tale, shot entirely in 3D.

The story focuses on a group of humans battling across the galaxy, with the cast of unknowns for AVATAR seemingly assembled in order to bring down costs, which are rumoured to be around $190 million (£98 million).

TITANIC itself cost over $200 million (£104 million), as production costs spiralled thanks to Cameron's love of special effects and attention to detail.

Nevertheless, the Canadian-born director is sure his latest effort will be well worth the money. "We're going to blow you to the back wall of the theatre in a way you haven't seen for a long time," he told the Hollywood Reporter.

"My goal is to rekindle those amazing mystical moments my generation felt when we first saw 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, or the next generation's STAR WARS."

He added that it has taken him ten years "to find something hard enough to be interesting", as the director returns to the sci-fi roots that brought us ALIENS, THE ABYSS and the TERMINATOR films.

AVATAR is expected to be released in summer 2009.