James Cameron says that although he almost directed Jurassic Park, Steven Spielberg was the "right guy" for the job: "I would have made it too terrifying and R-rated"

James Cameron says that although he almost directed Jurassic Park, the best man won and Steven Spielberg was the right person to helm the family-friendly classic.

"He was the right guy to make it," Cameron said in a new interview with Empire magazine. "Not me, because I would have made it too terrifying and R-rated. It would have been Aliens with dinosaurs."

Back in 2012, Cameron revealed that he tried to buy the book rights to Michael Crichton's novel, but Spielberg beat him to it by a few hours. Released in 1993, Spielberg's blockbuster launched a franchise that most recently gave us this year's Jurassic World Rebirth. Laura Dern, Sam Neill, and Jeff Goldblum starred as a group of scientists visiting a dinosaur theme park that isn't quite as safe as its billionaire owner insists.

Instead, Cameron directed the Arnold Schwarzenegger-led actioner True Lies, which was released in 1994.

Next up for Cameron is Avatar 3, officially titled Avatar: Fire and Ash. The next installment in his sci-fi epic franchise sees Jake, Neytiri, and their family come up against a new threat: the Ash People, a dangerous, volcano-dwelling Na'vi clan led by the ruthless Varang.

New additions to the cast include Game of Thrones' Oona Chaplin as Varang and David Thewlis as Peylak, the Na'vi leader of the Wind Traders.

Avatar: Fire and Ash arrives in theaters on December 19. In the meantime, check out our guide to the other biggest upcoming movies still on the way in 2025 (and beyond).