the Avatar: Fire and Ash (and he’s teased that Avatar 5 could be followed by Avatar 6 and 7 if all goes well), but he’s already lining up his next directorial project for when he’s finally done with the Avatar saga. This will be Cameron’s first non-Avatar movie since he made Titanic in 1997, so it’s been a long time coming.
Most of Cameron’s movies have been high-concept, action-packed sci-fi epics like Aliens, The Terminator, and the Avatar films, but his first post-Avatar movie will be more like Titanic: a historical drama based on a real-life tragedy. Cameron’s next movie, Last Train from Hiroshima, will dramatize the U.S. government’s atomic bombings of Japan in World War II. Cameron said that it’s a subject he’s wanted to make a movie about for years, and that he’s been “wrestling with how to do it.” This new project already sounds more exciting than the litany of Avatar sequels.
James Cameron's Last Train From Hiroshima Sounds Incredible – What It's About
Last Train From Hiroshima Will Tell The Most Incredible Eyewitness From The Atomic Bombings Of Japan
Based on Charles Pellegrino’s 2015 book of the same name and his follow-up book, Ghosts of Hiroshima, Last Train from Hiroshima will tell the most incredible eyewitness of the 1945 atomic bombings of Japan. The film will chronicle the unbelievable true story of Tsutomu Yamaguchi, who survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, boarded a train to Nagasaki, and then survived the subsequent atomic bombing there, too. Yamaguchi is the only person to be officially recognized by the government of Japan as having survived both explosions.
The Last Train from Hiroshima: The Survivors Look Back was originally published on January 19, 2010.
Cameron said that he met Yamaguchi in the hospital a few days before he died, and he “handed the baton of his personal story” to Cameron to turn it into a film. Last Train from Hiroshima sounds like the perfect companion piece to the last major Hollywood movie about the atomic bombings of Japan, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. Whereas Oppenheimer showed the dropping of the atomic bombs from the perspective of the physicists who worked on the Manhattan Project, Last Train from Hiroshima will show the Japanese perspective.
James Cameron Making A Non-Avatar Sequel Is More Exciting
The Avatar Movies Are Great, But Are Five Movies Really Necessary?
The amazing true story behind Last Train from Hiroshima makes it a particularly thrilling prospect, but just the fact that Cameron is working on a new movie outside the Avatar franchise is exciting. Throughout the 15 years that the Avatar sequels have been in the works, it’s seemed unlikely that Cameron would ever get away from Pandora to make another non-Avatar movie. After two very long Avatar movies, the chance to see Cameron make a new film separate from that franchise is more exciting than seeing him go back to that well once again.
Avatar 3 Is The Real Test Of James Cameron's Sequel Plan, And It Will Define Avatar 4 & 5
Despite the landmark success of Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water, Avatar 3 presents some risks for Cameron and his future plans for the franchise.
This isn’t to take away anything from the first two Avatar movies. Both the original and The Way of Water are visually stunning, transporting audiences to unimaginable alien worlds while using the power of mythmaking to convey poignant messages about environmentalism. But returning to that world three more times feels less exciting than Cameron taking a stab at something completely new, like Last Train from Hiroshima. Avatar is great, but it feels somewhat unnecessary to make five – maybe even seven – movies in the franchise.
Will James Cameron's Last Train From Hiroshima Actually Happen?
Last Train From Hiroshima Could Be At Least Seven Years Away
While Last Train from Hiroshima is a promising prospect for Cameron’s future career, don’t expect it to happen any time soon. Cameron isn’t making the movie straight away; he won’t get around to making it until he gets a break in the relentless Avatar production schedule. Avatar movies take a really long time to make. Since the films take place in an entirely CG world and Cameron is one of the few Hollywood producers to give their VFX artists enough time to do their work, the post-production process takes a lot longer than usual.
...it could be at least seven years before James Cameron starts work on Last Train from Hiroshima, and it could be another two or three years after that before the movie is finished.
Last Train from Hiroshima might have to wait until Avatar 5 is finally released. Avatar 5 isn’t scheduled to be released until December 19, 2031, and that’s without ing for any possible delays between now and then. That means it could be at least seven years before James Cameron starts work on Last Train from Hiroshima, and it could be another two or three years after that before the movie is finished. A lot can happen in a decade, so, sadly, it’s possible this movie will never see the light of day.
James Cameron
Discover the latest news and filmography for James Cameron, known for Avatar and Titanic.
- Birthdate
- August 16, 1954
- Notable Projects
- The Terminal
