In keeping with his tradition of handling his own PR through social media, Bryan Singer has announced his next film via his Instagram account. According to the director, he’s planning an adaptation of Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea.
> > > [It's my 50th birthday (ouch), and I just put the finishing touches on the script for my next film. A story I've wanted to retell since childhood. I promise this will be an epic and emotional adventure for all ages! An adventure very dear to my heart. Not abandoning the #xmen universe. Very excited about #xmenapocalypse and beyond. #julesverne #20000leaguesunderthesea #nemo](https://instagram.com/p/7vV5B_RD1D/) > > A photo posted by Bryan Singer (@bryanjaysinger) on Sep 17, 2015 at 10:14am PDT
It’s certainly an ambitious project, and one that has defeated the likes of McG and, most famously in recent years, David Fincher. The latter got as far as trying to land Brad Pitt for the lead and locking down Australian studio space and locations for his take on the adventure tale with a script by Andrew Kevin Walker.
Now Singer – no stranger to big films following the likes of X-Men: Days Of Future Past and its incoming follow-up X-Men: Apocalypse – has a screenplay written by Rick Sordelet and Jack The Giant Slayer’s Dan Studney based on a story by the director and his writers. And, of course, drawing from Verne’s novel, which features the temperamental Captain Nemo and his giant sub the Nautilus, which has been brought to the screen several times before.
Fincher and his team were working for Disney, but Singer’s post, which promises “an epic and emotional adventure for all ages” doesn’t mention a studio. Given the public domain nature of the tome, any studio should be able to adapt it, and with his close X-Men ties there, it’s possible this will be for Fox, which has tried its own version, without success, in years past. And mutant fans shouldn’t worry – Singer also mentions he has no plans to abandon the X-universe just yet. Talking of, Apocalypse will be with us on May 19 next year.