Though he’s been developing the project for years, James Cameron began to realise a couple of years ago that his commitments to the Avatar sequels would keep him from directing The Dive, the true, tragic love story of married free divers Francisco “Pipin” Ferraras and Audrey Mestre. Since then, he’s been handing it off to other filmmakers and now Francis Lawrence is set to call the shots, with his Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence in the lead.
According to The Wrap, Lawrence is aboard to play Mestre, who died while she was attempting to beat her own tank-free world record dive of 557.7 feet. Ferraras paid tribute to his wife by diving to the same depth for an attempt that was filmed by Cameron, a man not unfamiliar with the concept of underwater time himself.
In the time since realising he needed other people to make the film while he produces, Cameron has worked with the likes of director Martin Campbell and writer J. Michael Straczynski, who were attached in 2012. Now, with J. Law and F. Law (though no-one really calls him that) involved, they have a script in hand by Safe Haven’s Dana Stevens and the film might finally go ahead.