Titanic’s James Cameron in ‘talks to create fatal Titan submersible drama series’

Steve Hopkins

Matt Damon and Kumail Nanjiani have been mentioned for potential parts

James Cameron was outspoken during the search for the missing Titan submersible, and reports suggest he is now ready to create a drama series based on the journey that cost five lives.

The director of the 1997 film about the Titanic sinking is reportedly in talks with a major streaming platform about the production just weeks after the disaster happened while the vessel attempted to explore the wreckage of the sunken ship, The Sun reported on Friday.

Communications were lost with the Titan one hour and 45 minutes after it set off on June 18, sparking a race against time to find the 21-foot-long vessel that had just 96 hours of emergency oxygen and limited rations on board.

Days later the US Coast Guard announced that the vessel had suffered a “catastrophic implosion” while diving to see the wreckage, and that everyone on board was dead: British billionaire Hamish Harding, 58, OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, 61, French navy veteran Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, and Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his son Suleman, 19, who was “terrified” but went along as a Father’s Day gift.

Cameron, who is an expert on deep-sea exploration, later spoke out about the “prolonged and nightmarish charade” of hoping to find the group alive, saying that he knew they were dead soon after comms were lost.

“We got confirmation within an hour that there had been a loud bang at the same time that the sub comms were lost,” he has been quoted as saying.

“A loud bang on the hydrophone. Loss of transponder. Loss of comms. I knew what happened. The sub imploded.”

Cameron is now said to be in talks to bring the disaster to the small screen.

A source told The Sun: “The Titan disaster is already being looked at as a major series for one of the world’s biggest streamers — and James is first choice for director. It is a subject close to his heart.

“He told the story of the Titanic so compassionately it feels like a natural step for him to take this on. Retracing the steps of those on board the Titan is a massive undertaking but there would be a lot of time, money and resources dedicated to it.”

It has been suggested that Cameron is trying to line up big-name stars such as Matt Damon and Kumail Nanjiani for parts.

News of Cameron’s potential involvement comes almost 30 years after his iconic Titanic film starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet broke a number of box office records. The movie also won three Oscars in 1998, including Best Picture.

It also comes as an animation explaining how the Titan sub imploded surpassed 10 million views in less than a fortnight.