James Cameron said he had found the Titan sub's hull design risky. (File)
Filmmaker and Titanic expert James Cameron quashed rumours about his involvement in the development of an OceanGate film.
Filmmaker James Cameron spoke about rumours of him working on an OceanGate film. Mr Cameron said that although he usually refrains from responding to "offensive rumours", in this case he will break his silence. The director, on Instagram, said that he is not a part of any film on the topic.
"I don't respond to offensive rumours in the media usually, but I need to now," Mr Cameron said. "I'm not in talks about an OceanGate film, now will I ever be," the filmmaker added.
The OceanGate sub imploded during a dive to the Titanic wreck, killing all five people aboard. The Titan sub was reported missing on June 18. The US Coast Guard said on June 22 that the vessel had suffered a catastrophic implosion, ending a desperate rescue operation that had captivated the world. James Cameron earlier spoke about the tragedy extensively.
Explorers, including James Cameron, had sounded the alarm earlier with the filmmaker saying he had found the hull design risky.
"I thought it was a horrible idea. I wish I'd spoken up, but I assumed somebody was smarter than me, you know, because I never experimented with that technology, but it just sounded bad on its face," Mr Cameron told news agency Reuters.
The 'Titanic' director also said he is shocked by how similar the two instances -- the Titanic sinking and the Titan imploding --are.
Mr Cameron added that in both cases, "warnings went unheeded" and that both tragedies took place "at the same exact site".