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McG's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Remake Gets a Rewrite

by Alex Billington
July 7, 2009

I wonder if the poor box office performance of Terminator Salvation has anything to do with this? Disney has brought in (via THR) Oscar nominated writer Randall Wallace (Braveheart, Pearl Harbor, We Were Soldiers) to rewrite the original draft of the Captain Nemo: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea script penned by Justin Marks (Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li) and Bill Marsilii (Deja Vu). Now the big question is if McG will move into directing this rather than Terminator 5, which might never get made. The last we heard, 20,000 Leagues was already in pre-production, but now they've got to wait for the rewrite.

This updated version of Jules Verne's classic 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea will tell the origin of Captain Nemo and his submarine warship, the Nautilus. Nemo is a mysterious but noble antagonist in the book, a scientific genius with a thirst for knowledge and a desire for revenge against the forces of imperialism. In Verne's lesser-known sequel, "The Mysterious Island," Nemo is revealed as Indian Prince Dakkar, a rajah's son who took part in a failed rebellion and lost his wife and children. We're not sure how close to that back story this Disney version will be, but it is being developed as big action-adventure feature. Stay tuned!

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He tries so hard...

Very much expected for this to be made. The book is insanely huge and simply a terrific read. Despite the cheesiness that was The Extraordinary Gentleman, Nemo's character was well played and thought of.
http://www.puppybuckets.com Alehkhs

"In Verne's lesser-known sequel, "The Mysterious Island," Nemo is revealed as Indian Prince Dakkar" Well, originally, Nemo was to be Polish, and hints of this can still be found in the first novel. Under this plot, his family was murdered by the Russians during the Polish insurrection in the mid 1800's. One clue to the original intent of Verne is a portrait of Tadeusz Ko?ciuszko a board the Nautilus, Ko?ciuszko was a Polish hero who fought against the Russians. Nemo's collection of literature and art also point towards this more European origin. Verne's publisher though, fearing an outcry from Russian readers, convinced the author to obscure the true details of Nemo's background and the reason for which he fights. I'll be interested to see which way this new movie goes, and what history they build for Nemo. Will they follow the original idea of a European Nemo, or follow the now traditional Indian variant. With Will Smith being the supposed pick for Nemo, perhaps they are going for an African Nemo, whose family was killed by British Imperialists.
http://www.puppybuckets.com Alehkhs

Hmm... it didn't like the accented 's' in Tadeusz Kosciuszko
ari

Great book, in my experience books are almost always better than the movie. I def. dont think that McG should direct a movie like this, it would ruin it, the writers are talented but with a lack of a sustainable director this movie could either really suck or potentially be really good.
simple simon

#4 Randall Wallace is talented. Justin Marks is most decidedly not.
SHANEDAV

What Karate Moves does a Octopus Know? Will make Billions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
lumière

thank goodness, the writer of Pearl Harbor will save this film! erm... he also wrote Braveheart, so... erm... freedom? well, it can't be worse than The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen's Nemo. off topic - by the way, Alex, is the poor Terminator Salvation box office you're referring to the $350 million worldwide return so far on a less than $200 million budget? seem to remember you originally saying you liked it. mind you, if you meant in the *US*, it has certainly done less well, then fair enough. perhaps the US is done with John Connor, professionally?
DoomCanoe

if this movie makes $ we will be one step closer to a Hollywood blockbuster version of Moby Dick.