On June 18, 2023, a tiny submarine called the Titan sank under the waves of the Atlantic Ocean, bringing its passengers to view the wreckage of the Titanic, the massive ship (and mighty symbol of human vanity) that sank on her first voyage in 1912. On board the OceanGate Titan were a select group of extremely wealthy individuals, including Stockton Rush, explorer Paul-Henri Nargeole, Hamish Harding, Shahzada Dawood, and Daud’s son Suleman. It was widely reported that the Titan lost contact with the surface just 165 minutes after its first dive. It was later discovered that, as a reflection of the Titanic disaster, the Titan exploded after those 165 minutes, killing all of its passengers. 111 years after the sinking, the Titanic is still taking lives.
Titanic: Is James Cameron preparing a movie about Titan, an exploding submarine? The answer is negative
Director James Cameron famously adapted the Titanic tragedy into the 1997 film Titanic, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. The film used state-of-the-art visuals to tell a cursed love story aboard a cursed ship, and remains one of the most successful films of all time to this day. Further description of the film would be an exercise in redundancy.
Cameron has a lifelong passion for diving and exploring the deep sea, and is known to have used mini-submarines and other high-tech vehicles to personally observe and film the wreck of the Titanic. Cameron directed two documentaries, 2003’s Ghosts of the Abyss and 2005’s Aliens from the Deep, focusing on the Titanic and other underwater adventures. Due to his familiarity with submarines and the Titanic, rumors naturally began to circulate about a possible TV series based on the OceanGate Titan disaster.
Such rumors are highly inappropriate, but Cameron has repeatedly confirmed that he is not at all interested in such a project.
In fact, Cameron finds it insulting to even think that he should make a film about the OceanGate Titan and the passengers on board. In a post on his Twitter account, he very clearly stated:
“Usually I do not react to offensive rumors in the media, but now I have to. I am NOT covering the OceanGate film and never will be.”
This was in response to an article published in The Sun claiming to have inside information about Cameron’s upcoming projects. According to The Hollywood Reporter, The Sun stated:
“Tragedy on Titan has already been hailed as a great series by one of the biggest streaming services in the world, and James is the first choice to direct. This is an item that he loves. He told the story of the Titanic with such compassion that it seemed natural for him to do that as well. Tracking whoever was on board Titan is a massive task, but it will take a lot of time, money and resources.”
The language of the Sun article is clearly speculative (“it seems”, “it will come”), Cameron was not quoted in the article, as well as representatives of “one of the world’s largest streaming services”, whatever it may be. . It was just a guess about someone who used to make films about underwater tragedies. Such rumors were likely also reinforced by Cameron’s appearance on many national news bulletins to talk about Titan. Since he also designed submarines and visited the Titanic, his professional opinion was in demand. Cameron has been open about what happened to the Titan… and how things went wrong.