Filmonic » 20000 Leagues Under the Sea

Captain Nemo halted, McG no longer directing

Liam — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:34:39 +0000

Things don’t seem to be working out for McG recently. Before the release of Terminator Salvation he began development on Terminator 5, however he intended to film Captain Nemo: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea for Disney before that. Cut to now and the Terminator rights are being auctioned off, preventing any work on the next Terminator film, and now according to Variety Disney have halted Nemo.

Disney has put “Captain Nemo: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” in dry dock.
The picture, tentatively scheduled to begin production in February, has been halted indefinitely, and McG is no longer steering the ship. The studio confirmed that it won’t proceed with the film for now, and reps for the director confirmed he has withdrawn. While names like Will Smith were rumored as possible stars, no cast was ever set. The project had been on a fast track under the Dick Cook regime. Studio sez event pics like “20,000 Leagues,” “John Carter of Mars” and “Tron” are still priority under new chief Rich Ross.

McG will now focus on a drama called Dead Spy Running for Warner Bros.

After Terminator McG will be going 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

Liam — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 15:10:36 +0000

Terminator Salvation director McG (although until the film is released and enjoyed he will simply be known as the ‘Charlie’s Angels guy’) has decided to accept the $8 million pay check and will direct 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo. As Disney are behind the film it will be family orientated, and it is apparently being fast tracked so filming can start this year.

From Variety:

Scripted by Bill Marsilli, the film is an origin story of Nemo as he creates his warship, the Nautilus. The characters come from the Jules Verne novel.
The 1954 original “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” was the first live-action film made by Walt Disney, who famously bet his studio on a movie best remembered for the giant squid scene. It became the second-highest grossing film that year and won three Oscars. The film has also been the basis for various rides at the Disney theme park over the years.

McG recently announced that he would be working on Terminator 5 which Halcyon hopes to have ready for release in Summer 2011, which means that the film would have to go into production by April 2010. This should give McG more than enough time to make Nemo in between (if all goes according to plan).