James Cameron, the visionary director behind cinematic blockbusters such as Titanic, Terminator 2, Aliens, and the Avatar series, has officially announced the project he’ll be moving on to once he’s done with the Avatar universe.
As first reported by Deadline, Cameron has acquired the rights to Charles Pellegrino’s upcoming book Ghosts of Hiroshima, which will serve, along with Pellegrino’s 2015 work Last Train from Hiroshima, as the basis for his next Earth-set epic. Production on what will mark Cameron’s first non-Avatar picture since 1997’s Titanic will commence once his commitments to the Avatar sequels are fulfilled.
A Story of Survival
The film, to be titled Last Train from Hiroshima, will tell the remarkable true story of Tsutomu Yamaguchi, a Japanese man who survived the atomic blast in Hiroshima during World War II. Miraculously, Yamaguchi boarded a train to Nagasaki, only to live through the second nuclear explosion there. The film draws from Pellegrino’s two books, which weave eyewitness accounts of both survivors of the bombings and the American pilots who dropped the bombs. Through these voices and forensic archaeology, Pellegrino explores the catastrophic events of August 1945, during which the atomic bombs claimed between 150,000 and 246,000 lives.
A Personal Connection
Cameron’s connection to this story goes beyond his admiration for history; he personally met Yamaguchi just days before the survivor passed away. “I met Tsutomu Yamaguchi… He was handing the baton of his personal story to us, so I have to do it,” Cameron told Deadline. “I can’t turn away from it.” This profound encounter inspired Cameron’s commitment to ensuring Yamaguchi’s experiences are immortalised on 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,” Cameron added.
The Nolan Effect
The announcement of this film comes on the heels of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer success, which won multiple Oscars, including Best Picture, and made over $US975 million worldwide. Nolan had notably refrained from depicting the aftermath of the bombs in Japan, expressing his hope that another filmmaker would tell that part of the story. It now seems Cameron is set to do just that.
The deal was facilitated by Shane Salerno of The Story Factory, who has collaborated with Cameron on previous Avatar projects. Pellegrino, who has served as a science consultant to Cameron on both Titanic and Avatar, will again partner with the director on this deeply personal project.
Ghosts of Hiroshima will be published by Blackstone Publishing in August 2025, commemorating the 80th anniversary of the bombings.
Here’s a little more on Yamaguchi’s incredible story:
