Titanic director James Cameron nixes rumors of Titan sub disaster movie

Titanic director James Cameron says he is not planning on producing a new disaster film about the OceanGate submersible’s tragic implosion, which occurred while aiming to take five passengers to the depths of the North Atlantic Ocean to view the doomed ship.

Cameron, also known for his historic productions of The Terminator (1984) and Avatar (2009), commented on the issue on Twitter this past Saturday to deter any rumors he was planning to make his next film about the tragedy that left the world on the edge of its seat.

“I don’t respond to offensive rumors in the media usually, but I need to now. I’m NOT in talks about an OceanGate film, nor will I ever be,” Cameron tweeted.

Cameron’s denial came after rumors surfaced he was negotiating with a major streaming network about spearheading a project as a sequel project to his 1997 masterpiece. 

The Titanic director came back into the spotlight when the Titan submersible went missing on June 18. He made himself available for interviews as an expert who made 33 trips to the 111-year-old shipwreck.

While the world waited with bated breath, hoping for a miracle as the U.S. Coast Guard searched for the missing vessel with false signs of hope, Cameron predicted all along the Titan had imploded early in its trip.

He also criticized the days-long search for the submiersible as a “nightmarish charade,” complaining that it was “cruel” to give false hope to the victims’ families their loved ones could still be alive after they disappeared.

“For me, there was no doubt. I knew that sub was sitting exactly underneath its last known depth and position. That’s exactly where they found it,” he said in an interview with the BBC. 

Cameron explained that the submersible’s fate was emotional for him because of his decades-long friendship with famed French Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, one of the five aboard who died on the Titan submiersible.

Despite his frustration with the military for searching in vain, he was most upset with OceanGate and its founder Stockton Rush who also died in the tragic implosion.

The Titanic director said his sea adventure outlet ignored basic engineering standards and obvious safety protocols, and that the tourist trips were irresponsible.

“One of the saddest aspects of this is how preventable it really was,” Cameron told the British news media outlet.

He compared the company’s cavalier attitude to the Titanic’s own tragedy, which was believed to be unsinkable before it struck an iceberg on its maiden voyage from Britain to New York in 1912.

Before the OceanGate implosion, the submersible industry had a good record, but since the event, many have expressed fears about the risks and claustrophobic nature of the small crafts.

After the event, several witnesses who previously took the OceanGate trip described their experience, saying it was like a “kamikaze operation.