As his latest film Avatar: The Way of Water continues to swim past box office records, a report from the LA Times reveals that director James Cameron still wishes to proceed with his adaptation of The Last Train From Hiroshima: The Survivors Look Back, a book from Charles R. Pellegrino. The book chronicles a detailed account of the bombings of Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the events of World War II from the survivors’ perspectives.

Cameron previously expressed interest in adapting the story for the big screen as far back as 2010, with the director reportedly visiting and interviewing Tsutomu Yamaguchi, the only known survivor that was present during both bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, in preparation for the film. Yamaguchi eventually passed away not long after in 2010, but since then, no film adaptation has been produced. After deciding to dedicate his creative efforts toward his long-gestating Avatar sequels, the developing movie was eventually shelved alongside other unrealized projects from the director, such as his canceled Spider-Man adaptation and Battle Angel Alita, which ultimately did find its way to the big screen under Robert Rodriguez.

However, not all hope is lost for the film after all, as the director has recently revealed to the LA Times that he wishes to take some time off before production on Avatar 4 to work on the Hiroshima film, adding its timeliness due to recent significant events such as the war in Ukraine and the recent resurgence of nationalism across the world. “We live in a more precarious world than we thought we did,” Cameron said. “I think the Hiroshima film would be as timely as ever, if not more so. It reminds people what these weapons really do when they’re used against human targets.”

It wouldn’t be the first film by Cameron to make its way out of development hell, with one example being the first Avatar, which was initially written in 1994 before being delayed due to technological restraints of the time. While the movie still remains in its early stages, with no casting or filming currently announced yet, Cameron‘s commitment to the project indicates that the film could potentially be his first non-Avatar narrative feature since the release of Titanic in 1997. Should the film eventually be produced, it could serve as one of the most memorable entries in the director’s filmography. For now, additional details on the project remain scarce until production hopefully begins gearing up sometime in the near future.

With the film still developing, Cameron‘s adaptation of The Last Train From Hiroshima: The Survivors Look Back has yet to set a release date.

via Collider