Titanic, starring Leonard DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, could be returning to theatres in 2012 in 3D. (Reuters)With Star Wars returning to theatres in 3D, the Hollywood studios behind James Cameron's Titanic are also contemplating a theatrical re-release in 3D.

According to trade newspaper The Hollywood Reporter, Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox and Lightstorm Entertainment are working on a re-release of Cameron's blockbuster romance, potentially eying April 2012.

That release date would line up with the 100th anniversary of the massive passenger ship's April 1912 sinking into the Atlantic, as well as Paramount's centennial.

The studios have begun initial tests of converting footage from the 1997 film — which sees Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet entwined in a tragic love affair — from 2D to 3D.

"It's a time-consuming process, and we want to do it right," Titanic producer Jon Landau told The Hollywood Reporter.

"Converting a movie is not a technical process; it's a creative process that has technology behind it."

The conversion process is expected to cost upwards of $10 million US.

For more than a decade, Titanic held the title of the highest grossing film of all time. However, its record was shattered earlier this year by Cameron's latest, the 3D blockbuster Avatar.

Last week, Lucasfilm confirmed plans to re-release the six live-action Star Wars films in 3D, beginning in 2012 with Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace