Producer of Oscar-winning ‘Titanic' and ‘Avatar’ Jon Landau passes away at 63

Oscar-winning producer of iconic films such as 'Titanic' and 'Avatar' Jon Landau passed away due to cancer, aged 63.

Landau, who died on July 5, was a longtime producing partner of filmmaker James Cameron.

According to Variety, Landau made history with the Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet-starrer 'Titanic', which was the first film to cross $1 billion at the global box office.

He then surpassed that movie’s record-breaking grosses twice, with the 2009 film 'Avatar' and its sequel, 'Avatar: The Way of Water', which was released in 2022.

Before his death, Landau was deeply involved in the production of the 'Avatar' sequels. Cameron is planning to expand his blockbuster sci-fi franchise to five movies in total, with the fifth tentatively scheduled for release in 2031.

At the 'Way of Water' premiere in 2022, Landau recalled screening the movie for the principal cast.

“When I saw them tearing up, I had to tear up,” he said.

Landau became the executive vice president of feature film production at 20th Century Fox at the age of 29. He oversaw movies such as 'Die Hard 2', 'Power Rangers', 'The Last of the Mohicans', and 1994’s 'True Lies', on which he worked with Cameron.

After leaving Fox, Cameron asked Landau if he wanted to read the script for a project with the code name 'Planet Ice'. Landau joined the project, which eventually became 1997’s 'Titanic'.

Landau was also the architect of Lightstorm’s ancillary projects, such as 'Dark Horse' Comics and Penguin Random House’s various 'Avatar' print spinoffs.

Landau’s other producing credits include 1987’s 'Campus Man', 2002’s 'Solaris', and 2019’s 'Alita: Battle Angel'.

The producer is survived by his wife, Julie Landau, to whom he was married for almost 40 years, as well as their two sons, Jamie and Jodie Landau. He also leaves behind his siblings, Tina, Kathy, and Les Landau.