Netflix Resurrects Titanic & Sets The Internet Ablaze With Rage Post-Titan Tragedy

Netflix is bringing James Cameron's "Titanic" back to streaming, and fans are not happy.

In the wake of the disappearance and implosion of OceanGate's Titan submersible — which itself was on a journey to go see the wreckage of the real-life Titanic — fans think it's kind of a crappy move to advertise the fact that the 1997 epic will return to Netflix. 

On June 18, 2023, five people — including Stockton Rush, one of the founders of OceanGate — boarded the Titan to go see the Titanic, and the submersible never emerged from the ocean again. Several days later, after an extensive search effort, it was announced that the submersible very likely imploded shortly after it lost communication with ground control a mere 90 or so minutes into its journey. To confirm all of this, a field of debris was found about 1,600 feet from the actual Titanic wreckage. OceanGate's safety measures had come under direct criticism before this awful accident happened, but this still wasn't the Titan's maiden voyage — and unfortunately for those aboard, it couldn't withstand the dangerous journey.

Cameron's movie is one of the most celebrated films of all time — receiving a record-breaking number of Oscars the year after its release and still gaining new fans every year — but fans think that Netflix is making the complete wrong call with this re-release. Naturally, they took to Twitter to express their anger with the streamer, and they definitely didn't hold back.

Whether or not the arrangement to bring "Titanic" back to Netflix long pre-dated the Titan submersible's implosion — which it very likely did — widely advertising "Titanic's" return to Netflix definitely felt like a gross move to fans. Over on Twitter, @Jay2Goat_ simply wrote, "Sick ass company," while @stclairashley revealed they canceled their subscription to the streamer in a thread. They continued by imagining the rationale behind this decision, writing, "Netflix marketing director: "'You know how we could really capitalize on the tragic deaths of those people? Put the Titanic on Netflix for some easy cash because $31.6 billion a year in revenue isn't enough.' How broken and sick does your brain have to be to think this way? And it's not just one person. This decision likely went through countless managers, departments, executives, etc."

@BombayCat02 echoed these statements, writing, "Netflix is overstepping the boundaries of decency on this timing. People died in a tragic accident at the Titanic site and now to capitalize on the moment to garner viewers is beyond distasteful." This was clearly a common sentiment, with @BeingTeJan writing, "Not the right time for this @netflix. The world is talking about #Titanic for wrong reason and your team should wait for a month or two to release the movie on your platform. Let the families, maritime and diving industries mourn for the 5 loses on #OceanGate's Titan submersible."

In the midst of the Titan's disappearance, when it was still unknown whether or not the submersible could still be found and the passengers safely rescued, Cameron himself actually spoke out — because he's something of an expert when it comes to exploring the wreckage of the Titanic. As of this writing, Cameron has completed 33 journeys to see the Titanic wreckage, several of which were research for the film, and he also explored the Mariana Trench in 2012 in a submersible that he designed himself, so he does know a thing or two about situations like this.

Before the submersible's fate was determined, Cameron told CNN he suspected it had imploded based on his own experiences — and when everything was confirmed, he remarked to ABC News that, like many others, could see clear parallels between the Titan and the Titanic. "I'm struck by the similarity of the Titanic disaster itself," Cameron said, "where the captain was repeatedly warned about ice ahead of his ship and yet he steamed at full speed into an ice field on a moonless night and many died as a result. It's a very similar tragedy at the exact same site. It's astonishing and really quite surreal."

As of July 1, "Titanic," despite outcry, will be available to watch on Netflix.