For the first time since 1997, James Cameron will be stepping out of the shadows to release his new sure-to-be blockbuster, Avatar. Avatar’s release was first announced at the San Diego Comic-Con last month, where he set fans into a frenzy by showing 25 minutes of footage. Details about the movie are still vague, but the official trailer is set to come out this Friday the 21st. As of right now, the plot sounds fairly typical for sci-fi: humans are visiting another planet and attempt to make contact with the natives there, called “the Na’vi” (as a Zelda fan I thought this was cute). However, it is James Cameron, so the result will be far from typical.

Also in true Cameron fashion, along with releasing the trailer on Friday, he has announced the 21st of August to also be “Avatar Day”. This nationwide event will only be found in select cities, and unfortunately for our Columbus viewers, it’s already sold out. Sixteen minutes of scenes and trailers will be shown at theaters across the country at 6:00pm. Seems a bit much for what is basically an extended trailer, but the crowd’s reaction at Comic-Con was apparently so great that the movie demanded a grand opening. So what do you think: will this film compete with The Matrix and Star Trek as another award-winning sci-fi movie? Can it surpass Titanic? We’ll all find out on December 18.