James Cameron will absolutely not direct an OceanGate movie

James Cameron previously furiously denied reports that he could direct a movie based on the OceanGate tragedy.

This past summer, it was confirmed that all five passengers of OceanGate's Titan submersible had died after an implosion on the craft. The missing passengers and their subsequent deaths made headlines worldwide.

Mahjong Scenes in Cinema: What They Reveal About Character and Culture

Thursday 8 January 2026, 08:23

From jump scares to jackpots: why horror movie aesthetics persist in modern online casino design

Tuesday 23 December 2025, 10:29

Those on board were experienced diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet, businessman Shahzada Dawood, his son Suleman Dawood, billionaire Hamish Harding, and OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush.

Due to Cameron's experience with deep sea exploration, as well as his work on Titanic, stories emerged that he was planning on directing a movie about the events detailed. However, he insists he will never helm such a project.

“I don’t respond to offensive rumours in the media usually,” the acclaimed filmmaker wrote on Twitter. “But I need to now. I’m NOT in talks about an OceanGate film, nor will I ever be.”

Following the loss of life, OceanGate suspended all business activities until a full investigation is completed.

James Cameron critical of OceanGate tragedy

After the crew went missing, reports emerged that the submersible was unfit for purpose, and Cameron agrees.

"People in the community were very concerned about this sub. A number of the top players in the deep submergence engineering community even wrote letters to the company, saying that what they were doing was too experimental to carry passengers and that it needed to be certified," he explained to ABC News.

"I'm struck by the similarity of the Titanic disaster itself, where the captain was repeatedly warned about ice ahead of his ship, and yet he steamed at full speed into an ice field on a moonless night, and many people died as a result. For us, it's a very similar tragedy where warnings went unheeded. To take place at the same exact site with all the diving that's going on all around the world, I think it's just astonishing. It's really quite surreal."

Cameron himself is an experienced deep-sea explorer as he started the activity in preparation for The Abyss and Titanic and kept it up as a hobby afterwards. He has been credited with improving technology for filming underwater and has even discovered new species of sea cucumber, squid worm and a giant single-celled amoeba.