Roland Emmerich on Why He Backed Out of ‘Fantastic Voyage’ Remake with James Cameron: ‘He Is Very Overbearing’

For many filmmakers, the 1966 science fiction film “Fantastic Voyage,” which follows a shrunken submarine crew who travel into the body of an ailing scientist in order to heal him, is the holy grail of untapped IP. Directors such as Guillermo del Toro , Paul Greengrass, and Shawn Levy have all expressed interest in helming a new vision of the material, but none have managed to make it happen. However, almost 20 years ago “Independence Day” and “The Day After Tomorrow”-helmer Roland Emmerich was given a chance to crack “Fantastic Voyage” for Oscar-winning filmmaker James Cameron. Or at least so he thought.

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At Comic-Con this weekend, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter , Emmerich was speaking with Antoine Fuqua for Collider’s Directors on Directing event when he was asked about his involvement in a remake via a video question from “Now You See Me” director Louis Leterrier .

Responding quite bluntly, Emmerich said, “James Cameron is very overbearing, and so I, at one point, just gave up. Because it’s like, ‘Is it your movie or my movie?’”

While clearly the two blockbuster directors hold different styles, Emmerich shared how he knew early on it wasn’t going to work. Speaking to the audience at Comic-Con, he said, “We were in very beginning stages. Because I said, ‘Gosh, why is he so overbearing?’ I have to say, I do my stuff, and when I can’t do my stuff, I’m totally not interested. As simple as that. So when somebody else wants to say something to me and is more powerful than me, I drop out.”

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Cameron recently spoke on the project as well in April during a masterclass at Paris’ Cinematheque Francaise. He shared how he and producing partner Jon Landau, who passed away earlier this month , had played around with ideas for a new version for a long time and still were interested in taking it on, despite their all-consuming “Avatar” schedule.

“We’ve been developing it for a number of years, and we plan to go ahead with it very soon,” said Cameron. “Raquel Welch is not available, but we think we can make a pretty good movie.”

The late Welch was part of the original cast of “Fantastic Voyage,” which also featured Stephen Boyd, Donald Pleasance, and Edmond O’Brien.