Extreme backlash as Titan submersible movie reportedly in the works

A new film about the OceanGate Titan submersible disaster is in the works, but the response from moviegoers has been brutal.

A new film about OceanGate’s Titan submersible tragedy is reportedly in the works despite a wave of backlash on social media.

The project, which is currently filming under the working title ‘Salvage’, is helmed by MindRiot Entertainment and will tell the story of events that occurred before, during and after the incident, reports Deadline.

While no specific cast or plot details have been released, MindRiot’s Justin MacGregor and Jonathan Keasey will co-write the film while E. Brian Dobbins is set to co-produce.

“The Titan Tragedy is yet another example of a misinformed and quick-to-pounce system, in this case, our non-stop, 24-7 media cycle that convicts and ruins the lives of so many people without any due process,” Keasey, 47, told the outlet.

“Our film will not only honour all those involved in the submersible tragedy, and their families, but the feature will serve as a vessel that also addresses a more macro concern about the nature of media today.”

The Titan submersible tragedy is reportedly being made into a film. Picture: Handout / OceanGate Expeditions / AFP

“Truth is all that matters. And the world has a right to know the truth, always, not the salacious bait crammed down our throats by those seeking their five minutes of fame,” continued the lawyer-turned-filmmaker. “Life is not black and white. It’s complicated. There’s nuance. Always nuance.”

Keasey’s film has sent a ripple of anger across social media, with many X (formerly Twitter) users claiming that it was “too soon” for Hollywood to get involved.

“Seems too soon,” slammed one user.

“Hopefully a documentary rather than a live-action one – and even a documentary seems kinda too soon,” cringed a second person.

“Hasn’t even been a year, y’all are sick,” slammed a third user.

“You shouldn’t mock the dead, it’s disrespectful. More disrespectful than dramatising, recreating and then profiting off those dead,” quipped a fourth person.

Other X users weren’t so quick to dismiss the potential film.

“I will be seated, my commentary gonna be ruthless,” deadpanned one person.

News of the first feature-length film regarding the sub comes four months after the small submersible, owned by OceanGate Expeditions, imploded on its way to visit the remains of the Titanic.

Rescue teams worked for days to find the missing sub, to no avail. Picture: Handout / OceanGate Expeditions / AFP

It was initially reported that lauded Titanic director James Cameron would be helming a project, however, theAvatar creator slammed the idea saying it was “offensive.”

“I don’t respond to offensive rumours in the media usually, but I need to now. I’m NOT in talks about an OceanGate film, nor will I ever be,” Cameron, 68, wrote.

The voyage claimed the lives of British billionaire explorer Hamish Harding, French Titanic expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet, OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son Sulaiman.

This is not the first time an OceanGate sub has gotten lost either.

In 2022, a $US250,000 experience went dark for a few hours after it lost the signal from the ship that was guiding it.

A member of the first expedition to the 1912 ruins of the Titanic commented that if something bad were to take place in the darkest depths of the ocean, “you’re dead before you realise that something is happening, so it’s just not a problem.”

Since the implosion, the safety of OceanGate’s vehicles have been questioned.

In 2018, the group faced “quality control and safety” problems after the former director of marine operations, David Lochridge, said that he raised an issue with the company’s handling of the submersible.

Lochridge claimed that he found a “lack of non-destructive testing performed on the hull of the Titan,” and when he raised the issues with OceanGate founder and CEO Stockton Rush, he was wrongfully terminated, according to a lawsuit he filed that year.

This story originally appeared on New York Post and was reproduced with permission

Originally published as Extreme backlash as Titan submersible movie reportedly in the works