James Cameron says that Ghosts of Hiroshima is his most challenging project yet. The movie set during World War 2 will tell the story of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki from a Japanese perspective. It is based on the book by Charles R. Pellegrino, which was published this week on Aug. 5.

Cameron announced the development of the film in September 2024. This will reportedly be his next movie after wrapping up Avatar 5, the final planned installment in his record-breaking Avatar series. Cameron is also at work on an adaptation of the Joe Abercrombie novel The Devils.

Via Discussing Film, Cameron spoke about the process of making Ghosts of Hiroshima. According to the acclaimed director, this “might be the most challenging film” of his career. He even went on to say that he “might not even be up to the task.” This challenge came from the intensity of the story.

As for the filming process itself, Cameron said that he is “going to shoot it in 3D.” With all these factors, the director is “actually afraid of this movie in a way.” Check out the full quote from Cameron below:

This might be the most challenging film I ever make. I don’t 100% have my strategy fully in place [right now] for how I want to see it, for how I want to shield people from the horror, but still be honest. Also, for how I can find some kind of poetry, beauty, or spiritual epiphany in it somehow, which I know must be there. It’s there in every human story. So, it’s going to be very challenging. I might not even be up to the task, but that never stopped me before. […]

I want to show you what it was like. You’re just there. You’re a witness to history, you’re a witness to what really happened, and we can do that. I’m going to shoot it in 3D, if need be. I’m going to make it as real for you as I can. You know, I don’t know where it’s going to take me. I am actually afraid of this movie in a way. You live within a movie for a period of time. Avatar is great. I get to live on this fantasy planet with all these amazing creatures and so on. However, there are times when you feel compelled to say something else as an artist.

What Ghosts Of Hiroshima Means For James Cameron

This is not the first time that Cameron has defined what it means to “feel compelled to say something else as an artist.” When Cameron originally announced production on the film, he spoke about how he had wanted to produce a film on the subject for years. He noted that he “can’t turn away from it.”

More recently, Cameron said to ᴅᴇᴀᴅline how Ghosts of Hiroshima would differ from Oppenheimer. In contrast to what he wanted to accomplish with his World War II film, he felt that the Oscar-winning Christopher Nolan movie was “a bit of a moral cop out.” He said: “I don’t know whether the studio or Chris felt that that was a third rail that they didn’t want to touch, but I want to go straight at the third rail.”

Through these interviews, it is clear that Cameron sees Ghosts of Hiroshima as a moral endeavor as much as a filmmaking one. He feels a sense of obligation to tell this story in a way it has not been done before. The director has a mᴀssive platform, which will also bring more attention to this film.

Our Take On The Ghosts Of Hiroshima Update

While Cameron’s motivation is compelling, I’m also intrigued by the fact that he will shoot this movie in 3D. By using this stylized format, Cameron will venture into the territory that Nolan did with Dunkirk or that Sam Mendes did with 1917. That is, Ghosts of Hiroshima could be a war movie that is also a cinematic spectacle.

If done effectively, however, Ghosts of Hiroshima could be the most viscerally stirring film yet. If James Cameron effectively portrays the real-life horror stories of bombing survivors, the 3D visuals could immerse the audience in a way that is emotionally upsetting yet vital to their understanding of events.