James Cameron admits Jack could have survived Titanic

James CameronPhoto: Chung Sung-Jun (Getty Images)

Ok Titanic fans, YouTube video essayists and Let’s Debate This Topic Hinge urges users everywhere: it’s time to put this to rest once and for all. From James Cameron’s own mouth, Jack might have survived his watery grave at the bottom of Titanic. But there are still, according to the director, “many variables” to consider. And no, he couldn’t have walked in the door with Rose.

Cameron weighed in on the quarter-century debate about the upcoming National Geographic special Titanic: 25 Years Later with James Cameron, which celebrates the film’s anniversary. In a sneak peak, Cameron takes the audience through a very scientific test involving two costume stunts, a swimming pool (hopefully above freezing), a fake door and lots of simulated vibrations.

Cameron and the stunt performers performed three tests. In the first, the two actors just try to get in the door. As predicted, it doesn’t work. (Sorry Hinge users, but MythBusters told us as much six years ago.) With Jack and Rose at the door, she would have plunged further into the water, exposing them both to the deadly freezing temperatures. Not many happy ending fans cheered.

The stunt performers then find a position where both of their upper bodies are out of the water, protecting their vital organs. “By designing it, he could have made it long enough. Like clockwork,” says Cameron. Promising, but it’s important to remember that Jack and Rose have been running around and scrambling to stay afloat for hours before this. Considering the fatigue, they might not have been able to hold these positions for the time it would have taken for the lifeboats to arrive.

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Finally, a handy diver holds the performer playing Rose under water and very kindly allows the performer playing Jack to splash her in the face several times to simulate the exhaustion the characters may have endured. In this test, Rose also gives Jack a life jacket because he can’t stop shaking. “He is stabilized. He got into a place where if we were to design this, he might just have made it until the lifeboat got there,” Cameron says.

The final verdict? “Jack may have lived, but there are too many variables. I think his thought process was ‘I’m not going to do a thing that puts him at risk’. And that’s 100% in character.”

So there you have it, folks. You either die a romantic hero or live long enough to steal your girlfriend’s life jacket. Now, can we finally let this debate die? (Too fast?)

Titanic: 25 Years Later With James Cameron airs February 5 on the National Geographic Channel.