Director James Cameron is photographed during a portrait session at a central London hotel following the 'Titanic 3D' UK film premiere at the Royal Albert Hall in Kensington, West London. -AP Photo

LOS ANGELES: James Cameron will star in his next big-screen adventure, a chronicle of the expedition on which he made record-setting ocean dives.    

Cameron says he plans a TV special for National Geographic and a 3-D theatrical release on the Deepsea Challenger missions, which included his 7-mile (11-kilometer) descent to the ocean's deepest point in the Marianas Trench in the western Pacific. It was the deepest solo dive ever.

Cameron said in a phone interview Tuesday that the film could be ready late this year or early next year.

Cameron completed his dive Monday, then rushed to London for the premiere of a 3-D version of his 1997 blockbuster ''Titanic,'' which sails into theaters next week in time for the 100th anniversary of the ship's sinking.