James Cameron on Leonardo DiCaprio character death in 'Titanic': 'Jack might’ve lived'

Titanic director admitted after 25 years of film's release that Leonardo DiCaprio's Jack could survive with Rose played by Kate Winslet.

The emotional ending of Titanic which was released in 1997, at that time raised a question if Jack could be saved on the wooden raft with Rose.

To find out the answer, a footage of Cameron and a team of scientific experts conducting an experiment has been released.

The experiment was conducted for The National Geographic's special Titanic: 25 Years Later With James Cameron, which is set to stream in the US on February 5, 2023.

In the footage, Cameron and the crew has recreated the iconic scene to examine separate scenarios to find out if Jack could have adjusted on the door without having him or Rose drowning or freezing to death.

“We have done a scientific study to put this whole thing to rest and drive a stake through its heart once and for all,” Cameron told Postmedia back in December.

Although, at that time, the 68-year-old director admitted that he felt “there was no way they both could have survived”, now it appears that he has come to a different observation in the TV program itself.

A clip from the documentary features him working with the scientists as well as two stunt actors with the same body mass as the actual lead of the film to test various theories.

“Jack and Rose are able to get on the raft, but now they’re both submerged in dangerous levels of freezing water,” Cameron points out after the first test, which sees both of them clamber onto the door.

The next scene showcases both actors in a different position on the door-cum-raft, having their upper bodies – and, crucially, vital organs – lifted out of the water, which assures a potential outcome.

"Out of the water, [his body’s] violent shaking was helping him. Projecting it out, he could’ve made it pretty long. Like, hours," Cameron admits.

In the final test, the team decided to recreate the scene from the beginning having the stand-ins perform everything Jack and Rose go through before finding the door to make make it even closer to the real scenario.

Rose also offers her lifejacket to Jack to help protect him, which could result into positive outcome so far.

Cameron explains to camera, "He got into a place where if we projected that out, he just might’ve made it until the lifeboat got there."

“Jack might’ve lived, but there’s a lot of variables.”