Wow, finally something solid about James Cameron’s “Avatar” movie besides a bunch of casting announcements and the fact that this thing won’t be out until 2009? Yes! Or, maybe. This picture of the supposed concept art for the aliens in Cameron’s “Avatar” has been circulating around the net all week. I got this one (pictured to your left, bigger version below) from Slash Film. They don’t believe it’s real, incidentally, and it does look a little goofy. Then again, it is Cameron, the guy who came up with water aliens, so…

Says Slashy:

Unknown sources are claiming that the photo is of an indigenous alien race called the Na’vi from James Cameron’s upcoming sci-fi 3D epic Avatar. The original treatment for Avatar described the Na’vi as tall and blue, so this very well could be conceptual art for the species, however, I’m hoping that isn’t the case. To me it looks like a combination of Angelina Jolie as Beowulf’s mother, and the cult classic Disney film TRON.

If this ends up being the real aliens, at least it looks alien. Didn’t it always strike you as silly that all the “aliens” in Star Trek always ended up being humans with bumps on their foreheads or other minor facial differences? Now this looks alien.

Update: Cameron told AICN that No, the sketch below is not the alien in his “Avatar”. It could be an old design, or fan art, but nothing that he’s currently working with at the moment.