James Cameron's Avatar premieres in London 2009-12-12

Sci-fi fantasy Avatar, the first feature film from director James Cameron since Titanic, has had its public premiere in London.

James Cameron joined stars Sigourney Weaver, Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana to meet fans in Leicester Square ahead of the gala screening.

The film is set in the 22nd Century on a distant planet, Pandora, inhabited by a humanoid race with its own culture.

Reports have suggested the movie cost more than $200m (£123m) to make.

Cameron conceived the story for it in 1995, then waited a decade for technology to catch up so he could film it.

At a press conference before the premiere Cameron spoke of his relief that the film was finished after working on the production for more than four years.

"We got the picture done on time by the skin of our teeth," the Canadian director said.

"Tonight we'll pull the cover back and show the world, so to speak. It's a huge relief to let people see it and talk about it."

He was also asked about the political stance of the film - which mentions "martyrdom" and "shock and awe" and contains one scene that echoes the events of 9/11.

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