Avatar is one of the most famous and successful of the massive list of films by James Cameron. It’s so successful that he has been working on nothing but that for decades now, ever since that first film all the way back in 2009. His whole film schedule is actually booked all the way to 2029, which is when he’ll release Avatar 4. Whatever it will be about, it’s pretty clear that Cameron has got Avatar on the brain for a very, very long while.

However, James Cameron is now giving hints as to what he may be doing after Avatar. Not only that, but it will be his first non-Avatar film in 27 years after Titanic in 1997.

To Hell and Back: The Last Train From Hiroshima ~ Details

Deadline has just revealed that James Cameron is announcing that he will direct his first non-Avatar film since 1997. What is it, you might ask? Well, it will be the film adaptation of To Hell and Back: The Last Train From Hiroshima by American author Charles R. Pellegrino. Apparently, this book and future film will partially feature Tsutomu Yamaguchi, who witnessed and survived the atomic bombings of both Hiroshima and Nagasaki back in 1945.

Interestingly, that book has a bit of a checkered past. Originally, the book had the title The Last Train From Hiroshima: The Survivors Look Back. This version is no longer in print from publisher Henry Holt and Company due to ongoing criticisms of the book, which includes accusations of fabricated sources and questions about Charles R. Pellegrino’s own lack of academic background. Nevertheless, Cameron is quite vocal about defending Pellegrino’s book. In fact, this is what he had to say about the upcoming film adaptation below:

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

So it does seem like James Cameron wants to treat this subject with the respect it deserves. Regardless though, it will be a while before we see The Last Train From Hiroshima in movie form. There is no release window, and production won’t even begin until Avatar 4 is over and done with. We’ll just have to be patient and await more info at a later date.

Tune back in to THS to read about what else James Cameron is working on these days when we do.

Source: Deadline