WhileJames Cameronis deep into post-production onAvatar: Fire and Ashand in development forAvatar 4&5,he has found a new project outside of Pandora.Deadlinehas learned that Cameron purchased the rights to Charles R. Pellegrino‘s forthcomingGhosts of Hiroshimaas well as his2015 bookLast Train From Hiroshima, both of which will be combined into one “uncompromising theatrical film.” The movie will be titledLast Train From Hiroshimaand focuses on the true story of a Japanese man during World War II who survived the atomic blast at Hiroshima and then the nuclear explosion in Nagasaki after taking a train.
Ghost of Hiroshimais set to hit bookshelves in August 2025 to mark the 80th anniversary of the dropping of the Atomic bomb in 1945. Both books by Pellegrino feature eyewitness accounts of those who experienced the atomic explosions firsthand, including the Japanese civilians on the ground and the American flyers in the air. For reference, the bombs are estimated to have killed between 150,000 and 246,000 people. While visitingTsutomu Yamaguchi, a survivor of both Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Cameron and Pellegrino pledged to “pass on his unique and harrowing experience to future generations.” Cameron told Deadline regarding the film:
“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.”
Everyone Forgets About James Cameron’s First Film (Probably Because He Disowned It)
James Cameron made an inauspicious feature directorial debut with the horror film Piranha II: The Spawning.
Cameron Has Been Building To This Moment
The idea of a nuclear holocaust has been on Cameron’s mind since 1984’sThe Terminator.The fear of atomic weapons and their destructive capabilities has been a frequent cinematic tool of his,from destroying the Xenomorph hive inAliens,to the iconic dream destruction inTerminator 2: Judgement Day.TitanicandAvatarhave shown Cameron is a director who likes to push the boundaries of cinematic technology, so he feels like the right filmmaker to bring the horrific capabilities of an atomic bomb to the big screen. It will undoubtedly makeLast Train From Hiroshimaan interesting companion piece to Christopher Nolan’sOppenheimer, which detailed the creation of the atomic bomb but wascriticized by some for not showing the actual event and the devastation it had on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
In terms of whenLast Train From Hiroshimawill be filmed,Avatar: Fire and Ashis set to open in theaters on June 17, 2025.Cameron plans to filmLast Train From Hiroshimawhen theAvatarproductions permit his time. While he is hard at work on the third film,Avatar 4, which Cameron has already shot some footage for, it is not set for release for another four years as it will open in theaters on August 11, 2025. That four-year gap should give Cameron plenty of time to prep, film, and editLast Train From Hiroshimabefore returning to the world of Pandora and finishingAvatar 4andAvatar 5. IfLast Train From Hiroshimawere to open in 2027 betweenFire and AshandAvatar 4, it would be Cameron’s first non-Na’vi focused film in 30 years.
