While the big budget, David Fincher-attached Disney version of Captain Nemo sits in development dry dock, Shoreline Entertainment is pushing ahead with its own take on Jules Verne’s famous explorer antihero, with Downton Abbey’s Hugh Bonneville playing the main man.
Bonneville clearly got a taste for the ocean life after appearing as Captain Henry Avery in recent Doctor Who episode The Curse of the Black Spot. He’ll report to soundstages in China this August, where director Pearry Teo will call the shots on an adventure that will apparently serve as a semi-sequel to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and finds Nemo teaming up with President Ulysses Grant to fight an evil genius who is sinking ships.
While the film is grabbing a chunk of funding from Chinese investors and will be shot in the country, LA company Illuminate Hollywood is on hand to bring the 3D effects to life.
We’re also promised a “Steampunk” take on the tale, which sounds right up Verne’s alley. Chances are this one may end up sailing on to cinema screens before Disney’s version, though likely with a budget that would just about cover one of the cameras that Fincher will be using…