Fans searching for hints about the long-awaited "Avatar" sequels can find them in "Toruk," Cirque du Soleil's prequel to James Cameron's 2009 blockbuster.

Although the plot of "Toruk" doesn't tie in to the upcoming Fox films, Cameron tells Variety they do share some themes.

“The storyline in the sequels really follows Jake and Neytiri and their children,” he said. “It’s more of a family saga about the struggle with the humans. But thematically, ‘Toruk’ manages to land very very closely to the feeling of where the sequel stories are going.”

Cameron, who initially envisioned two sequels to "Avatar," announced in 2013 that the plan had grown to three before settling on four, because there was "way too much material." The first of the sequels is targeted for release in 2018.

The design work for the sequels is already complete, but Cameron acknowledges some of the visual elements of "Toruk" may make their way into the films.

 

"I love some of the costumes and hairstyles," he said, "so we might create a resonance there where you actually see some of the things that you see in ‘Toruk’ come into the design of the films."

"Toruk" concludes its four-night run in New York City on Sept. 11 before setting out across the United States and Canada.