James Cameron's 3D Documentary Of Latest Sea Expedition Could Be In Theaters This Year

Kind of lost in all the hubbub over James Cameron's recent, record-breaking deep sea descent was the fact he's going to make a 3D film about it. We already knew the film, tentatively titled Deepsea Challenge, would be produced by National Geographic but in a recent interview, Cameron said it could be ready later this year and that after premiering on television, it would get a theatrical release too. Read more details on the contents after the jump.

In case you've been living under a rock (or seven miles under the Earth's surface) for the past week, Cameron just returned from the deepest solo dive in nautical history, seven-miles down to the deepest point in the Mariana Trench. He went down there to document one of the only places on Earth that is still mysterious and, in the process, filmed 3D footage much like he did with his previous two documentaries Ghosts of the Abyss and Aliens of the Deep.

Cameron told The Associated Press the film could be done as early as later this year, or early next year, depending on how much additional shooting would need to be completed. The film will not only include the record-breaking dive, but Cameron's five-mile deep practice dive, the development of the special craft that was created and include a dramatic recreation of a similar dive that took place in 1960 by U.S. Navy Captain Don Walsh and Swiss engineer Jacques Piccard.

This is all well and good – Cameron's documentaries are gorgeous and surprising – but I think many fans are thinking the same thing I am. When will the man behind the two biggest box office success of all time get back to work on narrative movies?

Here's some video of Cameron's recent dive: