Disney is turning to a classic science fiction novel for one of its upcoming shows. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the studio has greenlit a ten-episode series called Nautilus for its streaming service, a new take on Jules Verne’s classic novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
According to THR, the story will be an origin story about Captain Nemo and his submarine. In his original novel, Verne follows the plight of Professor Pierre Aronnax, a scientist who was part of a scientific expedition to track down a previously unknown creature. He and the crew set off for the Pacific, and encounter the monster only to realize that it’s a submarine. They’re attacked and captured, where they meet Captain Nemo, an Indian prince and inventor who created the futuristic submarine, the Nautilus. He was an explorer, an engineer, and a polyglot, who desired to exact revenge against the British Empire and other imperialistic regimes.
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THR notes that the series will depict him as an “Indian prince robbed of his birthright and family” who had been taken prisoner by the East India Trading Company, and who “set sail with his ragtag crew on board the awe-inspiring vessel, battling foes and discovering magical underwater worlds.”
This isn’t the first time that Disney has adapted Verne’s novel: it did so in 1954, in a film that starred Kirk Douglas as Ned Land and James Mason as Captain Nemo, and there have been plenty of other adaptations over the years. Interestingly, Disney isn’t the only upcoming adaptation that takes a new look at Nemo: Realm (formerly Serial Box) announced earlier this year that it would be releasing a series called Nemo in September, written by Samit Basu, Mimi Mondal, Shiv Ramdas, and Achala Upendran, which will focus on Nemo as he “takes on empires.”
Disney’s series was developed co-produced by Xavier Marchand of Moonriver TV and Anand Tucker of Seven Stories, and executive produced by James Dormer and Johanna Devereaux, with production set to start sometime in 2022. There’s no word on directors, cast, or a firm release date as of yet.
By ‘Empires’ one presumes they mean the British Empire; someday a villain will show up without making their best effort at the Queen’s English and I might just die of shock at seeing such a novelty. (-;
My heart sinks every time I see something like this. It’s a pretty good story on it’s own with some pretty radical politics written into it. But there is no way well ever see that on screen. Or see the Nautilus as it’s described in the book and not as some steam punk monstrosity.
So once again we have a villain protagonist…
I’ve seen models and illustrations of the Nautilus as it’s described in the book. Uh, guess I’ll have to go with the steampunk monstrosity.
You know…every time I see a new adaptation of 20,000 Leagues in the work, there’s one thought that always goes through my mind:
That someday someone will, in trying to adapt Verne’s story, instead get the idea to work with Japan’s NHK to do a live-action adaptation of Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water (which was loosely inspired by 20,000 Leagues).
Every one of which has been horrible. There’s only one 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea that counts and, amazingly enough, it’s Disney’s. Back in the 1950s, Disney did a few rather excellent adaptations, among the best being Treasure Island and Kidnapped.
Harper Goff’s Nautilus design is iconic. Every Nautilus design since his has been disappointing. If Disney is smart, they’ll reuse it. If they don’t, I’ll probably give it a miss and rewatch my DVD of the original film. For me, 2K is one of those cases where the movie was superior to the book.
… where they meet Captain Nemo, an Indian prince and inventor who created the futuristic submarine, the Nautilus. He was an explorer, an engineer, and a polyglot, who desired to exact revenge against the British Empire and other imperialistic regimes.
Ironically, in the published version of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Nemo has no particular ethnicity and a very vague backstory. This is because in the original version of the novel, he was Polish, and his revenge was particularly directed against the Russian Empire, who had killed his family as a result of one of the failed Polish uprising. His publisher made him take this out, since the publisher was worried about a) losing sales in the lucrative Russian market (one of Alexandre Dumas’ novels had been banned in Russia because of its sympathies for the Decembrist uprising); and b) possible causing a diplomatic incident between France and Russia as well. (More details here.)
It’s in the second novel featuring Nemo — The Mysterious Island — that he acquires his Indian identity.
In Verne’s original draft, Nemo was a _Polish_ nobleman in exile fighting against the oppressive rule of the Russian Czar. But his publisher pointed out that France was cozying up to Russia diplomatically and this might have awkward consequences. So Verne changed Nemo to an Indian prince, because ragging on the British is always a crowd-pleaser in France.
I will note that in 20K, Nemo seems to be an entirely European character, with a Latin motto for his ship and references to European history and literature exclusively.
In my youth, I read different versions of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Has anyone else had that experience?
In Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Captain Nemo orders the double hull of the Nautilus from ‘Lairds of Liverpool’ – in reality Lairds shipyard of Birkenhead. This is basically the whole visible structure and 70% of the final weight.
The true origins of the Nautilus are firmly rooted in the town of Birkenhead. See the Jules Verne and the Heroes of Birkenhead website.