Jon Landau, producer of “Titanic” and “Avatar”, dies at the age of 63

Jon Landau, the Oscar-winning producer of “Titanic” and “Avatar” and long-time collaborator of director James Cameron, has died at the age of 63.

Actress Frances Fisher first reported the producer’s death in a post on X late Friday night. TheWrap also independently reported Landau’s death through a source close to the family, who said Landau died after a battle with cancer.

Landau’s other credits include Steven Soderbergh’s 2002 remake of “Solaris” and Robert Rodriguez’s 2019 “Alita: Battle Angel.” Landau, who was COO of Cameron’s production company Lightstorm Entertainment, was also involved in the production of the next three “Avatar” sequels, the next of which is scheduled for 2025.

Representatives for Landau did not immediately respond to IndieWire’s request for comment.

Landau was born in New York City in 1960 to Edythe and Ely Landau, film and television producers and executives who worked with Sidney Lumet and John Frankenheimer. During a handprint ceremony outside the TCL Chinese Theater in Los Angeles to celebrate the release of “Avatar: The Way of Water,” Landau recounted how his parents encouraged his passion for cinema from a young age.

“Being here today touches my heart,” he said at the event. “I am so grateful to my parents, who were producers in the film business, for showing me all the wonders the business has to offer and the power that films can have to change people’s lives and make them see our world through different eyes.”

He continued his education at the USC School of Cinematic Arts and eventually became Executive Vice President of Feature Film Production at 20th Century Fox in the early 1990s.

In 1997, Landau made film history when he produced James Cameron’s epic romantic disaster film Titanic, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. The film was the first to break the $1 billion mark at the box office, making it the highest-grossing film of all time. It won 11 Oscars, including Best Picture for Landau and Cameron. That record was later broken by Cameron and Landau’s own 2009 film Avatar, which was also nominated for Best Picture and won three Oscars.