Even with all the E3 news coming out today, we haven’t forgotten that we also cover movies, tv and comics here at The Flickcast. So, with that in mind, here’s a bit of news concerning a movie that pretty much everyone has heard of but most people know almost nothing about. I’m talking about, of course, James Cameron’s mysterious virtual reality film Avatar.

Since before production began on the film, Cameron has been very secretive about it and has taken great pains to keep the details under wraps. But now, the academy award winning director has gone on record about the upcoming film during the Ubisoft press conference where he also announced details concerning the Avatar video game.

According to Cameron, Avatar takes place in the 22nd century on Pandora, an Earth-like moon with 1,000-foot-tall trees and creatures both beautiful and terrifying. There’s also a race called the Na’vi, who are primitive humanoids but are also 10 feet tall, blue-skinned and striped like tigers. They are wise and fierce warriors who live harmoniously in their forest environment.

Because the atmosphere on Pandora is toxic to humans, there are human-Na’vi hybrids called “Avatars,” which are living, breathing bodies in the real world, controlled by human “drivers” who project their consciousness into the Avatar bodies. Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is a paralyzed war veteran who can live within his Avatar and finds himself caught between the humans and the inhabitants of Pandora.

Complications arise when he also falls in love with a Na’vi woman, perhaps causing what Cameron describes during the press conference as “massive battles featuring flying creatures called “Banshees.” Besides Sam Worthington, Avatar also stars Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez, Giovanni Ribisi and CCH Pounder. Avatar hits theaters on December 18th.

Check out Cameron’s full video, which G4 took at the conference, after the jump.

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