James Cameron Teases His Next Movie Will Be Shot in 3D

James Cameron is busy with Avatar: Fire and Ash, but he’s already planning his next big movie, a powerful story about the horrors of World War II.

His new film will be based on Ghosts of Hiroshima, a book by Charles Pellegrino that tells the true story of Tsutomu Yamaguchi. Yamaguchi survived the atomic bombings of both Hiroshima and Nagasaki, making his experience one of the most incredible and tragic in history.

The audiobook recently got its first and second teaser trailer and is narrated by Martin Sheen, a three-time Emmy winner, and features original music by Hans Zimmer.

The book, written by Pellegrino, who also worked as a science consultant on Titanic and Avatar, is set to be released on August 5, coinciding with the 80th anniversary of the bombings.

James Cameron recently shared some early thoughts about the movie Although the script is still in progress, Cameron admitted this project might be the toughest challenge he has ever faced as a filmmaker.

He said, “This might be the most challenging film I ever make. I don’t 100% have my strategy fully in place [right now] for how I want to see it, for how I want to shield people from the horror, but still be honest. Also, for how I can find some kind of poetry, beauty, or spiritual epiphany in it somehow, which I know must be there. It’s there in every human story. So, it’s going to be very challenging. I might not even be up to the task, but that never stopped me before.”

While details on how graphic the movie will be aren’t clear, Cameron revealed that much of the story will be told from the perspective of ground zero in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This is a very intense point of view, one that other films, like Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer (2023), have largely avoided.

Cameron has already pushed boundaries in showing nuclear devastation before, such as in the dream sequence from Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), and it will be interesting to see how far he goes this time. He also confirmed the movie will be shot in 3D.

He explained, “I want to show you what it was like. You’re just there. You’re a witness to history, you’re a witness to what really happened, and we can do that. I’m going to shoot it in 3D, if need be. I’m going to make it as real for you as I can. You know, I don’t know where it’s going to take me. I am actually afraid of this movie in a way. You live within a movie for a period of time. Avatar is great. I get to live on this fantasy planet with all these amazing creatures and so on. However, there are times when you feel compelled to say something else as an artist.”

Cameron also previously said that this project is very personal to him. He met Tsutomu Yamaguchi shortly before the man passed away and felt a deep responsibility to share his story with the world.

Cameron said, “It’s a subject that I’ve wanted to do a film about, that I’ve been wrestling with how to do it, over the years. I met Tsutomu Yamaguchi, a survivor of both Hiroshima and Nagasaki, just days before he died. He was in the hospital. He was handing the baton of his personal story to us, so I have to do it. I can’t turn away from it.”

He and Pellegrino promised to “pass on his unique and harrowing experience to future generations.”

The book is being published by Blackstone Publishing and The Story Factory, and it’s already available for pre-order at bookstores.

As for the film, there isn’t a set production or release date yet, since Cameron is still busy with his Avatar projects. However, Cameron has made it clear that he plans to tell the story honestly and without holding back.

In his usual straightforward style, he compared his vision for this film to what Steven Spielberg achieved with Saving Private Ryan and Schindler’s List.

This film will mark a major new chapter for Cameron after his work on Avatar, and fans will have to wait a little longer to see how he brings this intense story to the big screen.

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