It was a debate that had raged since 'Titanic' hit theaters 25 years ago: did Rose leave Jack to die by not letting him up on the board as they floated in the ocean. James Cameron maintains that the board would have only been big enough for one of them and Jack died valiantly, letting Rose live. Others argue that they could have at least tried to fit work it so both of them could have survived. But would it have actually worked? 'Mythbusters' to the rescue!

James Cameron was a special guest on 'Mythbusters' which finally looked to settle the debate "Did Jack Have to Die?" Their conclusion?

No.

Cameron and the Mythbusters agreed that Rose and Jack were floating on the board for 63 minutes. Using that as a guideline, hosts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman rigged up a board and set themselves atop as the two lovelorn heroes from 'Titanic.' What they found was that if both of them were on the board at the same time, they would've sank enough where hypothermia would've killed them both. Points for 'Titanic' right?

But, the Mythbusters concluded that if Rose had taken off her life jacket and placed it underneath the board, it would've provided enough buoyancy to keep both Jack and Rose alive long enough to be rescued. A-ha, take that Rose!

Cameron maintains that the Mythbusters crew were approaching this from a scientific but not dramatic approach:

I think you guys are missing the point here. The script says Jack died. He has to die. So maybe we screwed up and the board should have been a little tiny bit smaller, but the dude’s goin’ down.

What do you think? Did Jack have to die or was Rose to selfish to save her newfound love? You can watch the clip of the 'Mythbusters' debunking the 'Titanic' myth below:

More From Q92