James Cameron Confirms ‘Ghosts of Hiroshima’ Will Be His Next Non-Avatar Film

James Cameron has spent the past 25 years deeply involved with ‘Avatar,’ but he remains committed to eventually moving forward with “Ghosts of Hiroshima,” his next project outside the ‘Avatar’ universe.

Although ‘Hiroshima’ has been in development for some time, it’s just gained a bit of momentum — Deadline reports that Martin Sheen has signed on to narrate the audiobook “Ghosts of Hiroshima,” which Cameron will adapted to the screen.

Cameron has acquired the rights to Charles Pellegrino’s novel and intends to begin work on a “bold, uncompromising theatrical film” as soon as the schedule allows following the completion of the Avatar sequels.

The book’s release coincides with the 80th anniversary of the 1945 atomic bombing. The film adaptation will partly center on the real-life account of a Japanese man who lived through the Hiroshima bombing, traveled to Nagasaki, and endured the second nuclear blast there. Pellegrino’s work incorporates firsthand testimonies from survivors along with insights from the emerging field of forensic archaeology.

“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 told Deadline. “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.” While visiting Yamaguchi, Cameron and Pellegrino pledged to “pass on his unique and harrowing experience to future generations.”

Hiroshima is poised to become Cameron’s first non-‘Avatar’ feature since 1997’s “Titanic.” He began developing the original ‘Avatar’ in 1999, and from a filmmaking perspective, it’s dominated his creative focus ever since. If current timelines hold, Cameron will have devoted nearly three decades almost exclusively to the Avatar franchise by 2027.

That’s not to suggest the time was wasted—Cameron’s passion for the series is clear, and the films have achieved remarkable box office success. Still, as someone who was captivated by the groundbreaking visual and visceral thrills of “The Terminator,” “Terminator 2: Judgement Day,” “Aliens,” and “Titanic,” I can’t help but feel eager for the arrival of this next film.

Early last year, Cameron shared his intention to film ‘Hiroshima’ before beginning work on ‘Avatar 4.’ Hopefully, that plan is still in motion, though he remains deeply involved in the post-production process. A few months later, Cameron confirmed that development was already underway for ‘Avatar 6’ and ‘Avatar 7.’