A website is suggesting that James Cameron lift the inspiration for ‘Avatar’ from a 1957 short story.

Filmdrunk is reporting that a reader of the website Io9 has noticed some striking similarities between the 3D film epic and a story by Poul Anderson, titled ‘Call Me Joe,’ which is included in the Science Fiction Hall of Fame.

Like ‘Avatar,’ says the Io9, ‘Call Me Joe’ centers on a paraplegic who telepathically connects with an artificially created life form in order to explore a harsh planet — in the novel, Jupiter, in the film, a moon called Pandora. “Anglesey, like Avatar’s Jake Sully, revels in the freedom and strength of his artificial created body, battles predators on the surface of Jupiter, and gradually goes native as he spends more time connected to his artificial body.”

Poul Anderson also wrote a 1978 novel called ‘The Avatar.’

Io9 points out that there is nothing necessarily sinister about drawing inspiration from other writers but that Cameron has mentioned a host of influences for ‘Avatar,’ including ‘Dances with Wolves,’ ‘Rudyard Kipling,’ and ‘Edgar Rice Burroughs’ but has not mentioned Poul Anderson.

If there is something to it and the similarities cause problems for Cameron, it wouldn’t be the first time this has been an issue. After the original ‘Terminator’ was released in 1984, sci-fi writer Harlan Ellison sued the filmmakers, claiming that portions of the film had been lifted from two episodes he had written of ‘The Outer Limits.’ The company settled with Ellison and a credit added to the movie ”gratefully acknowledging his work.”

‘Avatar,’ set for release in December, is expected to revolutionize 3D technology. It stars Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana.

(Photo by PR Photos)

Story by the Dish Information Corporation