Titanic: James Cameron Scientifically Tests Out if Jack could have Survived the Ending

After the massive success of Avatar: The Way of Water, James Cameron is now gearing up to promote the 4K re-release of his other hit movie Titanic. To help promote the film, Cameron has teamed up with National Geographic for a special called Titanic: 25 Years Later, and it has Cameron himself testing scientifically the much-debated ending about Jack surviving at the end.

Watch this:

.@GMA FIRST LOOK: @natgeo special “Titanic: 25 Years Later with James Cameron” will settle the debate once and for all: could Jack have survived?@JimCameron@natgeotv pic.twitter.com/OkKCXaEkvF

— Good Morning America (@GMA) February 2, 2023

Cameron essentially took two stunt people, had them dressed in period clothing, and made them recreate the final scene where Jack and Rose are in freezing water figuring out whether they both could have fit on the door. They even went so far as to exhaust the stunt people before they were submerged, so they could realistically find out if Jack could have survived.

The verdict? Jack could have survived, but there were a ton of variables—none of which we could have expected two desperate people to figure out on the spot. Having them both on the door would have submerged them both, but Jack literally shaking was said to have allowed them some more time until help got to them.

I’ll admit, the experiment is pretty silly, but at least we have an answer on the age-long debate on whether Jack really needed to die in the film. I mean, narratively, yes, but should things have gone right, Rose could have been rescued with him and they would have probably broken up months later after Rose discovers just how Jack’s talent doesn’t really put food on the table.

At least, that’s my take.

Titanic’s re-release comes to cinemas on Feb. 10.