I think the point is that was .... in 1997?
In 1997 I was young, stupid, drunk, and absolutely f**king brilliant. It's, sadly, 2017 now.
Here's how to think about Jim Cameron, director without a good film to his name since 1997 (that's not a criticism btw, just a fact).
John Carpenter made some of THE BEST MOVIES ever. Along with Alien, he made arguably the best lovecraftian horror ever, in the The Thing remake, and some of the best genre movies in cinema history, redefining horror with Halloween. Hell, I think In The Mouth of Madness is bordering on genius.
But as he hasn't made a good movie since the 90's, would I think he would be the best choice for a big budget horror movie? Um ....