Exclusive: Titanic Remake In The Works
My heart will go on again with a new version of Titanic.
This article is more than 2 years old
It has now been nearly 23 years since James Cameron’s Titanic set sail in theaters and broke every box office record in 1997. It’s probably only the fact that it was such a juggernaut which has prevented anyone from remaking it… until now.
There are people who are now drinking age who weren’t even born the last time Titanic was a big deal. Many of them have never seen the 1997 movie at all, but they know the name of that famous ship and they know about the romance between Jack and Rose. So now Paramount Pictures is considering remaking it as a way to cash in on that brand awareness.
The news of Titanic getting the remake treatment comes from the same source that made us the first outlet anywhere to break the news that CBS is making Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (now confirmed). That said,be aware we only have a single source on this. A proven source, but only one.
Our source says Paramount has sent feelers out to Disney to see if they’d be willing to partner with them on a Titanic remake. Paramount and Disney jointly own the rights to the 1997 James Cameron movie. Originally Paramount made Titanic in partnership with 20th Century Fox, however Disney acquired Fox’s share of the rights when they acquired them in 2019. Disney has been working steadily to evaluate the properties they acquired in their Fox merger, looking for ways to acquire them. However, whether Disney would be interested in a disaster movie remake of this scale is unknown, but our source says Paramount definitely is.
Our source tells us if Disney isn’t interested Paramount “may just make a different movie based on the real history of the Titanic. But they’d rather remake the James Cameron version and share the cost to make it” with Disney. Paramount believes the audience potential is higher if its a Titanic remake instead of just a different Titanic movie. They’re probably right.
The 1997 version of Titanic cost around $200 million to make and back then all the special effects were cutting edge. The cost of similar modern day special effects ship sinking are likely to be much cheaper. Meanwhile Titanic grossed around $2.2 billion at the box office on the way to making then up and comers Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio household names. It’s probably also the main reason Celine Dion has continued to go on.
Don’t expect James Cameron to be involved again as the Titanic remake moves forward. The legendary filmmaker is now 65-years-old and waist deep in making three Avatar sequels which won’t be finished for at least half a decade.
It’s worth noting for all you 20-somethings who weren’t around in 1997 that neither of the main characters in Titanic actually existed. The sinking of the ship is real and pretty historically accurate, but the love story is total fiction. It’s that total fiction which Paramount believes will move tickets. They don’t need Disney if all they want to do is sink a really big ship.
