James Cameron Buys ‘Ghosts of Hiroshima’ Book Rights, Will Direct Film When ‘Avatar’ Production Allows

Director James Cameron has purchased the rights to Charles Pellegrino‘s upcoming book “Ghosts of Hiroshima,” which will be published by Blackstone Publishing in August 2025 (the 80th anniversary of the bomb’s dropping in 1945).

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Cameron will combine and adapt “Ghosts” and Pellegrino’s 2015 book “Last Train From Hiroshima” into a single film, which he will shoot when “Avatar” production allows. It will be titled “Last Train from Hiroshima.”

The film will tell the true story of a Japanese man during World War II who survived two atomic bombings: after living through the explosion in Hiroshima, he took a train to Nagasaki, enduring another blast there. Pellegrino was a science consultant to Cameron on both “Avatar” and “Titanic,” and Cameron has been interested in bringing this story to the big screen for over 20 years.

The project would mark Cameron’s first non-“Avatar” franchise project as a narrative feature director since 1997, when he released “Titanic.” The Oscar winner’s other credits include “The Terminator,” “Aliens,” “The Abyss,” “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” and “True Lies.” His documentary projects include “Ghosts of the Abyss,” “Aliens of the Deep” and “Expedition: Bismarck.”

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Shane Salerno at The Story Factory brokered the deal for the project. He previously collaborated with the director on the screenplay for “Avatar: The Way of Water,” and will similarly contribute for “Avatar: Fire and Ash” and the subsequent sequels in the juggernaut franchise.

Pellegrino is represented by Salerno’s The Story Factory, which will handle international rights sales on his new book. Deadline was first to report the news.

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