James Cameron hopes to direct a film about Hiroshima before starting Avatar 4

Last Updated on February 23, 2023

James Cameron has said that he mourns the films he won’t get to make since he has decided to head up the Avatar franchise himself before passing the torch. Many have joined him in mourning as fans feel that he is talented enough to bring in new works to cinema that isn’t tied to his passion franchise. As the renowned sci-fi icon finishes up Avatar 3 in the wake of the massive success of Avatar: The Way of Water, the filmmaker has set his sights on squeezing in a pet project before starting work on Avatar 4.

The Los Angeles Times has recently profiled the writer and director, and Cameron reveals that he is interested in directing a movie based on the book, The Last Train From Hiroshima: The Survivors Look Back, by author Charles R. Pellegrino. He has also done research based on the accounts of the late Tsutomu Yamaguchi, who is the only survivor of both of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. Cameron aims to reflect on the war in Ukraine and resurgent nationalism with this story, “We live in a more precarious world than we thought we did. I think the Hiroshima film would be as timely as ever, if not more so. It reminds people what these weapons really do when they’re used against human targets.”

The Avatar films tell the stories of the fight between indigenous tribes of Pandora and the occupying colonizers of a dying Earth, so Cameron is no stranger to showing the struggles of attempted natural resource consumption and genocide. As per usual, Cameron wants this film to be experienced, like all his films, on the big screen. The sci-fi auteur has been quoted as saying, “Enough of the streaming already. I’m tired of sitting on my ass.”

Ever the champion for the moviegoing experience, Cameron feels strongly that people will never quit going to the movies. “I don’t think it’s ever going to go away ’cause it’s something specific. The deal we make to go and immerse ourselves without distraction, it’s like doing yoga or taking a walk in the forest for a couple of hours. There’s something about it I still think is sacred.”