Hollywood mastermind James Cameron has provided an update on his upcoming war film project…and it’s likely not what you want to hear. The project, which will combine the books “Ghosts of Hiroshima” and “The Last Train From Hiroshima,” was announced by the Titanic director last year. He revealed that he had purchased the rights to adapt both books from Charles R. Pellegrino into one feature, a project that sees him taking some distance from the Avatar franchise. However, it seems that the Oscar winner isn’t leaving Pandora behind just yet, as he’s keeping busy with several other projects, including the still uncertain Avatar 4.
Cameron recently appeared on the podcast The Town, hosted by Matthew Belloni. During the two-part episode, Cameron talked about the current state of the industry, particularly with Warner Bros. at the center of one of the most competitive bidding wars of all time. The director also shared his take on AI, and the upcoming release of Avatar: Fire and Ash, whose success will determine if Cameron can still fulfill his large-scale vision for the franchise. When asked what other projects are still active on his slate, the producer/director revealed that the Hiroshima project is definitely further away than we had imagined:
“I have ten other projects, that one just sort of hit the headlines briefly because of the book announcement and trying to push the book to a bestseller because the author is a friend of mine. Doesn’t mean I’m not going to make the film, but I haven’t written the script, and it’s not slated right now, and I don’t even have a distribution partner on it. So it’s a pretty much a vaporware project right now.”
James Cameron Must First Survive the Daunting Challenge of ‘Avatar’
Although he has continued his work as producer on various projects, Cameron has been largely focusing on the Avatar franchise for more than two decades. The ambitious action sci-fi universe has seen the release of two major feature films, both of which are now billion-dollar blockbusters, with one of them literally becoming the highest-grossing film of all time. While everyone wonders how Cameron keeps pulling this off, especially with Avatar not seeming very popular when compared to other film franchises or genres. But the reality speaks for itself, and the industry clearly trusts the Academy Award winner.
However, Cameron is also a realist. He knows that he will keep making Avatar sequels as long as audiences show up and they remain profitable. It’s the reason why Avatar: Fire and Ash, to be released this December, is likely Cameron’s most important project to date. Despite his consistent success, Cameron recently said that the future of Avatar is uncertain. The sci-fi epics are ambitious and extremely expensive, and while he has several Avatar sequels in mind, the box office results will need to continue. The pressure is well and truly on, and time will tell if he’s able to cause another impact with the upcoming sequel – a movie that could determine his future as one of Hollywood’s most important filmmakers.
- Birthname
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James Francis Cameron
- Birthdate
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August 16, 1954
- Birthplace
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Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada