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The OceanGate Titan tragedy is being turned into a movie, because of course there will be

"Truth is all that matters," says the co-writer of the new OceanGate Titan movie

OceanGate Titan
Image credit: OceanGate

In news that is at once unsurprising and deeply depressing, the story of the OceanGate Titan — the submersible that disappeared while attempting to visit the wreckage of the Titanic this summer, only for it to be discovered that it had imploded soon after launch, instantly killing all five people onboard — is to be made into a movie. Because, well, of course that was going to happen.

The Titan went missing on June 18 of this year, carrying two crew members and three passengers, each of whom had paid the $250,000 cost for a place on the mission. Communication with the submarine was lost an hour and 45 minutes into the dive, launching a five-day search by the international community. On June 22, it was confirmed that the submarine had imploded, with the assumption being that had happened around the time communication was lost.

The movie — which will apparently cover the time period leading up to, and resulting from, the search for the missing submarine, according to reports — will be co-produced by The Blackening producer E. Brian Dobbins, who’ll be working with Pacific Northwest-based production company MindRiot Entertainment on the project. The feature will be co-written by MindRiot’s Justin MacGregor and Jonathan Keasey,

In a statement about the project, Keasey suggested that the movie wouldn’t just tell the story of those on the doomed mission, but also the reporting surrounding the tragedy. “The Titan Tragedy is yet another example of a misinformed and quick-to-pounce system, in this case, our nonstop, 24-7 media cycle that convicts and ruins the lives of so many people without any due process. Our film will not only honor 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,” he explained. “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. Life is not black and white. It’s complicated. There’s nuance. Always nuance.”

MindRiot is making the most out of the OceanGate Titan story; in addition to this fictionalized feature, the company is also making a documentary series about Kyle Bingham, the director of the mission. Sometimes, it takes multiple swings at the truth to truly get there.


From real life nautical tragedies to fictional monsters of the sea, a new Meg boxset collects all of the books in the series together.

Graeme McMillan

Graeme McMillan: Popverse Editor Graeme McMillan (he/him) has been writing about comics, culture, and comics culture on the internet for close to two decades at this point, which is terrifying to admit. He completely understands if you have problems understanding his accent.

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