James Cameron wants to solve the “Titanic” question about Jack in the National Geographic Special

titanic Director James Cameron has an answer for fans who insist that the film’s hero would have survived if he had hit the floating door alone: ​​You don’t know Jack.

passionate fans of titanic have haunted Cameron for years with their theory that Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) could have survived by joining his beloved Rose (Kate Winslet) in the floating door after the ship sank. In the film, Jack realizes he will only kill her by adding his weight, so he ends up dying in the icy North Atlantic.

To settle the matter once and for all – and pump it up the titanic Theatrical Rerelease February 10 – Cameron directed an upcoming National Geographic special, Titanic: 25 Years Later with James Cameron. In it, Cameron and a team recreate the scene and try four different scenarios to see if there is a chance for Jack to survive.

Titanic: 25 Years Later with James Cameron will premiere on National Geographic Sunday at 9pm ET and stream the next day on Hulu.

SPOILER ALERT: Read no further than this line if you want to be surprised by the results

The good news for Jack fans is that there might have been a way to survive the door, but it would have been a pain.

The tests begin with Jack and Rose both at the door. They can do it, but their combined weight keeps them submerged in icy water. Fail.

If both Jack and Rose could have entered the door in a position that raised their torsos out of the water, they might have survived. It would have required knowledge of the circumstances and some strength.

“No more water [his body’s] violent shaking helped him,” Cameron said. “If I had projected it, he could have made it quite long. like hours.

The final test includes a non-film scene involving a life jacket. They also make Jack and Rose do a series of strenuous exercises.

“He is stabilized,” says Cameron. “He got to a place where he might have made it to the lifeboat’s arrival if we had predicted. Jack may have lived, but there are many variables. I think his thought process was, “I’m not going to do anything that puts her in danger,” and that’s 100 percent his character.

Kate Winslet also commented on the tests. It does not buy survival.

“I have to be honest: I don’t really think we would have survived if we both got to that door. I think he would have fit, but it would have backfired and it wouldn’t have been a sustainable idea,” Winslet said in December Happy sad confused podcast. “So you heard it here for the first time. Yes, he could have guarded that door, but he didn’t want to float. It wouldn’t.”