Although we haven’t yet seen Terminator Salvation, we’ve seen enough mighty impressive footage to make us believe that McG, director of those two awful **Charlie's Angels **films, may no longer be a godawful hack and may, in fact, have filled James Cameron's shoes with aplomb.
But that said, we’re not sure how to greet today’s news that the newly-hot director has signed on to direct a family-friendly reboot of Jules Verne’s classic underwater tale, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. Mainly, it has to be said, because of the title: 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea: Captain Nemo.
As you might expect, that indicates that this lavish new adventure will be yet another origin tale, following Nemo as he builds his famous warship/submarine, Nautilus, with the idea of establishing a new cinematic hero in Verne’s dogged and noble adventurer, and a new franchise.
Apart from that, little is known about the film, which is the first official adaptation of Verne’s novel since the last Walt Disney version, back in 1954, which starred James Mason as Nemo.
But Nemo has been seen on the big screen since, notably in 2003’s The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen, when he was played by Indian actor Naseeruddin Shah – accurately so, as it happens, for Nemo is actually a Hindu named Prince Dakkar.
It’s unlikely that Disney will plump for an Indian actor to play Nemo this time around – although suggestions are more than welcome, readers. After all, if they tapped Jake Gyllenhaal to play the Prince Of Persia, then they may well draw from the same source for their new Nemo. That’s just one reason for our slight concern: we also have a feeling that, in an attempt to establish a new hero, Disney and McG might gloss over all of Nemo’s more negative traits, from the brooding thirst for vengeance, to the cold-blooded stubbornness that marks him out as a true original. But we’ll have to see.
Bill Marsilli wrote the script, and Sean Bailey will produce, along with McG’s Wonderland Sound And Vision.
The new 20,000 Leagues will probably be McG’s next film after he finishes Terminator Salvation. He’ll then, in all probability, move on to a new Terminator sequel, provided that Terminator Salvation does well, of course.