James Cameron is aiming to be king of Blu-ray and 4K, as word has emerged from the abyss that some of the director’s most iconic movies in his canon will be getting updated home video releases sometime this year.
The Digital Bits founder and editor-in-chief Bill Hunt had the chance to talk to producer Jon Landau about upcoming Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD releases of some of James Cameron’s greatest movies: The Abyss (1989), True Lies (1994), Titanic (1997), and the first Avatar (2009). As Hunt rattled off these titles, Landau replied, “2023, baby!…I would bet [they] would be [released]…But I don’t know if Disney wants me saying that yet,” followed by a laugh. You can watch the video below:
Hunt posted a follow-up tweet that read, “FYI, I have it on good authority that #Bluray #3D is–I won’t say likely, but it’s definitely being considered for some of these physical releases. But don’t consider that gospel until the studio(s) make their official announcements. But James Cameron is very pro 3D.”
This is major news for James Cameron fans, as so many of his greatest works have yet to make their way to Blu-ray, let alone 4K. These releases are long overdue. Just to give a little perspective, we got Ghosts of the Abyss on 3D Blu-ray over a decade before even getting this hint of The Abyss, despite rumors last year. And, really, shouldn’t we have gotten Titanic to coincide with the 25th anniversary 4K theatrical re-release? However, don’t expect the releases on shelves or online anytime soon. As The Digital Bits noted, the companies “still have to complete all the remastering, authoring, QC, and replication work, and all of that has to go flawlessly for the discs to actually arrive in consumer hands before the end of the year.” So that gives them some time to throw in Piranha II: The Spawning, right?
If these James Cameron movies do make it to Blu-ray and 4K this year, which will you be picking up? Which other movies deserve to have the 4K treatment? Let us know in the comments section below!