Jules Verne’s driven, mercurial hero Captain Nemo has been a fascination for filmmakers for ages. His adventures in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea have been adapted several times for screens big and small, but that isn’t stopping new writers and studios throwing their hats into the ring, with Sony buying up a script from Smallville creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar{
The co-writers, who more recently worked on films such as I Am Number Four and** The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor**, won producer Joe Roth’s eye with their spec script, which boasts a new take on the antihero explorer and scientific genius who builds a sub called the Nautilus. Roth, in turn, sent the script to Sony.
Though Roth has a close relationship with Disney – he’s helped make Alice In Wonderland and this year’s Maleficent happen – the Mouse House already has a Nemo update drifting through development. David Fincher was attached for a few years, but has parted ways with the film because of budget disagreements, and Disney is looking for someone else to take on the job. Sony’s version has yet to lock down a director, but the studio will want to move quickly to see which company can win the race to the screen.