What was James Cameron’s feature-film directorial debut?

James Cameron’s feature-film directorial debut was Piranha II: The Spawning.

Released in 1982, the film is a science-fiction horror sequel about genetically altered piranhas that can fly. Cameron was hired to direct after working in the art department and special-effects field. The production was troubled, and Cameron later said that much of the project was completed under difficult circumstances.

Piranha II: The Spawning is often discussed as an early glimpse of the filmmaker’s interest in mechanical creatures, water, and technical spectacle. Those concerns became much more prominent in later projects such as The Terminator, The Abyss, and Titanic.

The film is sometimes incorrectly identified as Cameron’s first major Hollywood success. That distinction belongs to The Terminator, released in 1984. Piranha II was Cameron’s first feature directing credit, but it was not the film that established his reputation as a major director.