''20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'' is a 1954 American
science fiction
Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
adventure film
The adventure film is a broad genre of film. Some early genre studies found it no different than the Western film or argued that adventure could encompass all Hollywood genres. Commonality was found among historians Brian Taves and Ian Cameron in ...
directed by
Richard Fleischer, from a screenplay by
Earl Felton. Adapted from
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet and playwright.
His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...
's 1870 novel ''
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'', the film was produced by
Walt Disney Productions. It stars
Kirk Douglas,
James Mason,
Paul Lukas, and
Peter Lorre. Photographed in
Technicolor, the film was one of the first feature-length motion pictures to be filmed in
CinemaScope. It was the first feature-length Disney film to be distributed by
Buena Vista Distribution.
''20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'' was a critical and commercial success, being especially remembered for the fight with a giant squid, as well as Mason's definitive performance as the charismatic anti-hero
Captain Nemo. The film won two
Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...
for its
art direction and
special effects.
Plot
In 1868, rumors spread of a
sea monster
Sea monsters are beings from folklore believed to dwell in the sea and are often imagined to be of immense size. Marine monsters can take many forms, including sea dragons, sea serpents, or tentacled beasts. They can be slimy and scaly and are of ...
attacking ships in the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
. Professor Aronnax and his assistant, Conseil, are asked to investigate, and board a
U.S. Navy frigate. They are joined by master
harpooner Ned Land.
After months of patrolling, the monster is spotted. The frigate's guncrew open fire, but the monster rams the warship. Ned, Conseil, and Aronnax are thrown overboard while the disabled frigate drifts away. While clinging to wreckage, Aronnax and Conseil come upon a metal vessel and realize the monster is a man-made "submerging boat" that appears deserted. Below decks, Aronnax finds a large viewport and witnesses an underwater funeral, while Ned arrives on an overturned longboat from their ship.
Spotted by the divers, Ned, Aronnax, and Conseil attempt to leave in the longboat, but they are captured. The vessel's captain introduces himself as
Captain Nemo, master of the ''
Nautilus
A nautilus (; ) is any of the various species within the cephalopod family Nautilidae. This is the sole extant family of the superfamily Nautilaceae and the suborder Nautilina.
It comprises nine living species in two genera, the type genus, ty ...
''. He returns Ned and Conseil to the deck while offering Aronnax, whose name he recognizes, the chance to stay. After Aronnax proves willing to die with his companions as the ship submerges, Nemo allows Ned and Conseil to remain aboard.
Nemo takes ''Nautilus'' to a
penal colony island, where the prisoners are loading a munitions ship. Nemo, once a prisoner there as were many of his crew, rams the steamer, destroying it and its crew. Nemo tells Aronnax that he has just saved thousands from death in war, and that "this hated nation" tortured his wife and son to death while attempting to force him to reveal his discoveries. In Nemo's cabin, Ned and Conseil discover the map coordinates of Nemo's secret island base, Vulcania, where ''Nautilus'' is now heading. Ned throws messages with Vulcania's coordinates overboard in bottles in the hope of being rescued.
Off the coast of
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...
, ''Nautilus'' becomes stranded on a reef. Nemo allows Ned to go ashore with Conseil, ostensibly to collect specimens, while admonishing them to stay on the beach. Ned instead goes exploring for avenues of escape, and finds human skulls posted on stakes. Ned runs back to Conseil, and they row away pursued by cannibals. Aboard ''Nautilus'', the cannibals are repelled by electrical charges sent through its hull, and Nemo confines Ned for disobeying orders.
A warship fires upon ''Nautilus'', which descends into the depths, attracting a
giant squid. After an electric charge fails to repel the creature, Nemo and his men surface during a storm to dislodge it. Nemo is caught by one of its long tentacles, and Ned, having escaped from captivity, fatally harpoons the squid, and saves Nemo when he is pulled into the sea. Having had a change of heart, Nemo decides to make amends with the world.
As ''Nautilus'' nears Vulcania, Nemo finds the island surrounded by warships, with marines having disembarked. The ''Nautilus'' enters his base through an underwater passage, and surfaces within its extinct volcano lagoon. Nemo rushes ashore to activate a time bomb in order to destroy any evidence of his discoveries but is shot and mortally wounded as he returns onboard. Navigating the submarine to a safe distance from Vulcania, Nemo announces that he will be "taking the ''Nautilus'' down for the last time". His crew declare that they will accompany their captain in death.
Aronnax, Conseil, and Ned are confined to their cabins, while ''Nautilus''
's crew retreat to their own at Nemo's instructions. Ned, refusing to be part of the suicide pact, escapes and surfaces the submarine, striking a reef in the process, causing ''Nautilus'' to flood. Nemo dies while viewing his beloved undersea domain through the hull's viewport.
Aronnax tries retrieving his journal, but the urgency of their escape obliges Ned to knock him unconscious and carry him out. Aboard ''Nautilus''
's skiff, the three companions, along with Esmeralda, Nemo’s pet sea lion, witness Vulcania explode. A large, billowing mushroom cloud rises above the island's destruction. Ned apologizes to Aronnax for striking him, but Aronnax concedes that the loss of his journal might have been for the best. As ''Nautilus'' sinks, Nemo's last words to Aronnax echo: "There is hope for the future. And when the world is ready for a new and better life, all this will someday come to pass... in God's good time."
Cast
*
Kirk Douglas as Ned Land
*
James Mason as
Captain Nemo
*
Paul Lukas as Professor Pierre Aronnax
*
Peter Lorre as Conseil
*
Robert J. Wilke as ''Nautilus'' First Mate
*
Ted de Corsia as Captain Farragut
*
Carleton Young as John Howard
*
J. M. Kerrigan as Billy
*
Percy Helton as Coach driver
* Ted Cooper as ''Abraham Lincoln'' First Mate
*
Fred Graham as Casey (uncredited stuntman)
*
Laurie Mitchell as Hooker (uncredited debut)
Production
Walt Disney
Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...
first expressed interest in an adaptation of
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet and playwright.
His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...
's ''
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'' after seeing some marine footage and storyboards created by
Harper Goff during the production of the ''
True-Life Adventures'' series. At the time, the film rights were owned by
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
and
King Brothers Productions.
In November 1950, film producer
Sid Rogell announced he had acquired the screen rights to the novel, as well as a film adaptation prepared by
Robert L. Lippert's production company. He had planned to start filming within a year at the
General Service Studios. In December 1951, it was reported that Disney had purchased the film rights from Rogell. Goff's storyboards and art designs formed the film's basis.
''20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'' was filmed at locations in
The Bahamas
The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of ...
and
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
, with the cave scenes filmed beneath what is now the
Xtabi Resort on the cliffs of
Negril.
Other scenes were photographed in
Nassau,
Lyford Cay, and
Death Valley
Death Valley is a desert valley in Eastern California, in the northern Mojave Desert, bordering the Great Basin Desert. It is thought to be the Highest temperature recorded on Earth, hottest place on Earth during summer.
Death Valley's Badwat ...
. Filming took place between January 11 and June 19, 1954.
According to the two-disc DVD documentary, the scenes in San Francisco at the beginning were filmed at
Universal Studios while most of the modeling shots were done at
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...
.
Some of the location filming sequences were so complex that they required a technical crew of more than 400 people. The production presented many other challenges. The famous giant squid attack sequence had to be entirely re-shot, as it was originally filmed as taking place at dusk and in a calm sea. The sequence was filmed again, this time taking place at twilight and during a humongous thunderstorm, both to increase the drama and to better hide the cables and other mechanical workings of the Animatronic squid.
With a total and deeply over-run production cost of $9 million,
["The Reel Thing XXVII: Program Abstracts"](_blank)
Reel Thing, July 8, 2011. Retrieved: April 4, 2018. ''20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'' was the most expensive and ambitious production in Hollywood up to that time.
Differences between novel and film
The film was praised as faithfully adapting the novel. James W. Maertens writes that while this is true, "Close comparison of the novel and film reveals many changes, omissions, even reversals, which affect the story's fundamental concern (besides scientific education), a representation of class and gender, specifically masculinity, in the industrial age." Nemo's submarine, battery-powered in the novel, is powered by
atomic energy in the film. The novel's submarine is also a "streamlined, cigar shaped sub" while the film's is "a more ornate vessel".
The film's director and screenwriter extracted "the most memorable scenes from the novel and freely reordered them under the assumption that viewers would not remember the novel's order of events." Goff and Disney based the Nautilus's design in the film on the interior of the
Forth Bridge.
In the novel, Nemo orders parts from various industries, secretly shipping them to an island for assembly, whom Maertens labeled "a logistical genius at manipulating
Industrial Age manufacturing".
Music
Rather than an authentic soundtrack recording of the film's
score or dialogue, two
vinyl studio cast record albums were released to coincide with the film's first two releases in 1954 and 1963. Both albums contained condensed and heavily altered versions of the film's script, without the usage of any of the film's cast for character voices. Both albums were narrated by Ned Land as opposed to Aronnax, who narrated the film and the original novel. Neither album mentioned Nemo as actually being "cracked" (i.e. insane), as the film does, and considerably sanitized the character by omitting any mention of him killing anyone. The albums had Nemo surviving at the end and releasing Ned, Arronax, and Conseil out of gratitude for their saving his life. In this version, Ned, Aronnax and Conseil were not shipwrecked because the Nautilus rammed the ship they were on, but because a hurricane came up.
The first album was issued in 1954 in conjunction with the film's original release, and starred
William Redfield as the voice of Ned. This album, a book-and-record set, was issued as part of
RCA Victor's
Little Nipper series on two 45-RPM records.
["Walt Disney's ''20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'' (Little Nipper Story Book Album)."](_blank)
''Amazon''. Retrieved: January 9, 2015. The second album, released by
Disneyland Records in 1963 in conjunction with the film's first re-release,
["Label: Disneyland Records."](_blank)
''Rate Your Music''. Retrieved: January 9, 2015. was issued on one 33 RPM 12-inch
LP with no accompanying booklet and no liner notes – the usual practice with most Disneyland label albums. It contained much more of the film's plot, but with many of the same alterations as the first album, so this recording was technically a remake of the earlier one. The cast for the 1963 album was uncredited. Neither album listed the film's credits or made any mention of the film's cast.
A single for the film's most memorable song "A Whale of a Tale", written by
Norman Gimbel and
Al Hoffman and sung by Kirk Douglas, was released in 1954 under the
Decca Children's Series label. According to Douglas, the recording was "very popular at the time". The song "And the Moon Grew Brighter and Brighter", which Douglas had sung in the movie ''
Man Without a Star'', written by Lou Singer and
Jimmy Kennedy, was the
B-side. Both songs can be found on the 2008 digital release of the film's soundtrack.
["Soundtrack Details: '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'."](_blank)
''Soundtrack Collector''. Retrieved: January 9, 2015. In the film,
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...
's ''
Toccata and Fugue in D minor'' is played by Nemo on the Nautilus's organ, but James Mason's playing is actually dubbed by an anonymous organist.
Official soundtrack
In January 2008,
Walt Disney Records released a 26-track
digital album containing the music of
Paul Smith's original soundtrack score to ''20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'', plus both sides of the "A Whale of a Tale" single, and a
digital booklet companion that explores the music of the film. This was the first official release of the film score and was initially available only through the
iTunes Store.
["Soundtrack: '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea' by Various Artists."](_blank)
''iTunes Store''. Retrieved: January 9, 2015. Intrada released the same soundtrack on CD in 2011.
["Soundtrack Details: '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'."](_blank)
''Intrada''. Retrieved: January 9, 2015. The music for ''20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'' was composed by Paul Smith, with
Joseph Dubin acting as the orchestrator.
Release
On September 15, 1954, ''
Variety'' reported that Disney and
RKO Pictures had begun discussions on the distribution plans for ''20,000 Leagues Under the Sea''. A week later, it was reported that Disney decided to end his 17-year association with RKO, choosing instead to release the film through his newly formed distribution arm, Buena Vista Distribution. Overseas, the film was distributed by Walt Disney British Films Ltd, a studio-owned subsidiary in the UK, and other local distributors in international territories.
On December 23, 1954, the film premiered at the
Astor Theatre. It was released in 65 key cities across the United States two days later, on Christmas Day. The film was re-released in theaters in 1963 and 1971.
Home media
In September 1980, ''20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'' was made available for purchase or rental on
videocassette, among other Disney films. In 1992, Scott MacQueen, then-senior manager of Disney's library restoration, did an extensive digital restoration for the film's videocassette release.
In May 2003, the film was released on a two-disc DVD set with supplemental features, including an
audio commentary, deleted scenes (including the original squid fight albeit without sound), and an extensive making-of documentary. On the same day, the film was screened at the
El Capitan Theatre, with Richard Fleischer introducing the film. A
1080p
1080p (1920 × 1080 progressively displayed pixels; also known as Full HD or FHD, and BT.709) is a set of HDTV high-definition video modes characterized by 1,920 pixels displayed across the screen horizontally and 1,080 pixels down the sc ...
HD version from a
4K restoration was released on
iTunes
iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
in 2014. In 2019, the film was released on Blu-ray via the Disney Movie Club. The film was made available to stream on
Disney+
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
when the service launched in November 2019.
Reception
Box office
During its opening weekend, ''20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'' opened in second place at the box office behind ''
There's No Business Like Show Business'' (1954). On its third weekend, the film became the number-one box office film in the United States, displacing ''
Vera Cruz'' (1954). It was dethroned by ''Vera Cruz'' on its fourth weekend, but the film reclaimed the number-one position on its fifth weekend. By January 1956, the film had earned $8 million in
distributor rentals at the box office from the United States and Canada, becoming
the third highest-grossing film of 1954. Another account put its initial rentals in the US and Canada at $6,607,000.
Critical reaction
Bosley Crowther of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' stated that, "As fabulous and fantastic as anything he has ever done in cartoons is Walt Disney's 'live action' movie made from
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet and playwright.
His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...
's '
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.' Turned out in
CinemaScope and color, it is as broad, fictitiously, as it is long (128 minutes), and should prove a sensation—at least with the kids."
Gene Arneel of ''
Variety'' praised the film as "a special kind of picture making, combining photographic ingenuity, imaginative story telling and fiscal daring." He felt "Richard Fleischer's direction keeps the Disney epic moving at a smart clip, picking up interest right from the start and deftly developing each of the many tense moments ... Earl Fenton's screenplay looks to be a combination of the best in the Verne original and new material to suit the screen form. It's a fine job of writing stimulating pic fare. Technical credits — underline the water photography — are excellent."
Kate Cameron of the ''
New York Daily News
The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...
'' praised the film as a "thrilling and absorbing adaptation"; she further wrote: "Richard Fleischer handled the direction of the film with vivid imagination. The underwater scenes are fascinating in their eerie beauty and the interesting glimpses they contain of marine life."
Philip K. Scheuer, reviewing for the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'', wrote: "Technically the film is a marvel itself, with actual underwater shot made in the Bahamas alternating with surface scale models that defy detection as such." He also praised Mason's performance, claiming "he lends depth and dimension to the stock figure of the 'mad genius.' The proof: he sometimes seems more pitied than scorned." ''
Harrison's Reports'' wrote: "Expertly utilizing the CinemaScope medium and Technicolor photography, he
alt Disneyand his staff have fashioned a picture that is not only a masterpiece from the production point of view but also a great entertainment, the kind that should go over in a big way with all types of audiences." A review in the ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'' wrote, "Produced with care, in handsome color and peppered with humor, it's a nicely balanced dose of old supposition and modern fact."
Contemporary film critic Steve Biodrowski said that the film is "far superior to the majority of genre efforts from the period (or any period, for that matter), with production design and technical effects that have dated hardly at all." Biodrowski also added that the film "may occasionally succumb to some of the problems inherent in the source material (the episodic nature does slow the pace), but the strengths far outweigh the weaknesses, making this one of the greatest science-fiction films ever made."
On the
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
website
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, the film has an approval rating of 91% based on 32 reviews, with an average rating of 7.70/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "One of Disney's finest live-action adventures, ''20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'' brings Jules Verne's classic sci-fi tale to vivid life, and features an awesome giant squid."
Accolades
The film's primary art director
Harper Goff, who designed the fictitious ''Nautilus'' submarine, was not a member of the Art Directors Union. Therefore, under a bylaw within the Academy of Motion Pictures, he was unable to receive his Academy Award for Art Direction.
["Spotlight: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea."](_blank)
''Turner Classic Movies''. Retrieved: January 9, 2015.
In Disney resorts
Disneyland
Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney, ...
used the original sets as a walk-through attraction from 1955 to 1966.
Walt Disney World Resort's Magic Kingdom
Magic Kingdom Park is a Amusement park, theme park at the Walt Disney World, Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida. It opened on October 1, 1971, and is owned and operated by the Walt Disney Company through its Disney Experiences, Expe ...
also had a
dark ride named
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage from 1971 to 1994 which consisted of a submarine ride, complete with the giant squid attack, and an arrangement of the main theme from the 1954 film playing on Captain Nemo's organ in the background. For this ride, voice artist
Peter Renaday stood in for James Mason in the role of Captain Nemo.
In 1994, a walkthrough attraction opened at
Disneyland Paris, named
Les Mystères du Nautilus. In 2001, a dark ride was created at
Tokyo DisneySea. The exterior to
The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure contains a silhouette of the ''Nautilus'' in a rock wall. The
tiki bar Trader Sam's Grog Grotto at
Disney's Polynesian Village Resort serves a cocktail called the "Nautilus" which is served in a stylized drinking vessel resembling the submarine, and features a dive helmet and a mechanical squid tentacle that pours liquor behind the bar.
Comic book adaptation
*
Dell
Dell Inc. is an American technology company that develops, sells, repairs, and supports personal computers (PCs), Server (computing), servers, data storage devices, network switches, software, computer peripherals including printers and webcam ...
Four Color #614 (February 1955)
Remake and prequel
In January 2009, ''
Variety'' reported that a live-action remake titled ''20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo'' was being planned with
Joseph McGinty Nichol (professionally known as McG) attached to direct. The film served as an origin story for Captain Nemo, as he builds his warship, the ''Nautilus''. McG had remarked that it would be "much more in keeping with the spirit of the novel" than Richard Fleischer's film, in which it would reveal "what Aronnax is up to and the becoming of Captain Nemo, and how the man became at war with war itself". It was written by Bill Marsilli, with Justin Marks and
Randall Wallace brought in to do rewrites. The film was to be produced by
Sean Bailey with McG's
Wonderland Sound and Vision.
McG once suggested that he wanted
Will Smith
Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, rapper, and film producer. Known for his work in both Will Smith filmography, the screen and Will Smith discography, music industries, List of awards and nominations re ...
as Captain Nemo, but he reportedly turned down the part. As a second possible choice, McG had mentioned
Sam Worthington, with whom he worked on ''
Terminator Salvation'' (2009), though they did not hold serious discussions. In November 2009, the project was shelved by then-
Walt Disney Pictures chairman
Rich Ross, after $10 million had been spent on pre-production work. Prior to the announcement, McG and Bailey had been notified of the project's cancellation.
During the 2010
San Diego Comic-Con
San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...
, director
David Fincher announced plans of directing ''20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'' for Walt Disney Pictures based on a script by
Scott Z. Burns.
While Fincher was wrapping up ''
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo'' (2011), it was speculated that ''20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'' would enter principal photography by late 2012. In the meantime, Fincher began courting
Brad Pitt to play the role of Ned Land while the film was kept on hold. In February 2013, it was announced that Pitt had officially turned down the role.
In April 2013, it was announced that the Australian government would provide a one-off incentive of $20 million in order to secure the production. Despite this, the film was put on hold again the following month due to complications in casting a lead. In July 2013, Fincher dropped out to direct the
film adaptation of ''
Gone Girl''. Fincher revealed in an interview that he left the film because he wanted
Channing Tatum
Channing Matthew Tatum (born April 26, 1980) is an American actor and producer. He made his film debut in the drama ''Coach Carter'' (2005), and had his Breakthrough role, breakthrough with the sports comedy film ''She's the Man'' (2006) and t ...
for Ned Land, but Disney wanted
Chris Hemsworth for the role. Additionally, the money originally allocated for the production of this film was redirected towards ''
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales'' (2017).
In February 2016, Disney announced that it was planning a live-action film titled ''Captain Nemo'', with
James Mangold directing. Mangold left the project to instead direct ''
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
''Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny'' is a 2023 American action-adventure film directed by James Mangold and written by Mangold, David Koepp, Jez Butterworth, Jez and John-Henry Butterworth. It is the fifth and final installment in Indiana_ ...
'' (2023).
In August 2021, it was announced that a ten-episode miniseries titled ''
Nautilus
A nautilus (; ) is any of the various species within the cephalopod family Nautilidae. This is the sole extant family of the superfamily Nautilaceae and the suborder Nautilina.
It comprises nine living species in two genera, the type genus, ty ...
'' was in development. The series will be an origin story about Captain Nemo and will be written by James Dormer, who will co-produce with Johanna Devereaux. In November 2021,
Shazad Latif was cast in the lead role while
Michael Matthews will direct the series. In August 2023, Disney pulled out from the project due to its cost-reduction strategy to its streaming platforms. In October 2023, the
AMC television channel acquired the series, with plans to air it in 2024.
See also
*
List of underwater science fiction works
* ''
Mysterious Island'', a 1961 film by Columbia Pictures, based on Verne's 1874 novel ''
The Mysterious Island'', which was a sequel to two of Verne's earlier novels: ''
In Search of the Castaways'' (also known as ''Captain Grant's Children'') (1867) and ''
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'' (1870)
* ''
In Search of the Castaways'', a 1962 Disney film based on Verne's 1867 novel
''In Search of the Castaways'' (a.k.a. ''Captain Grant's Children'')
* ''
Atlantis: The Lost Empire'', a 2001 Disney animated film that would share much of the same design language as ''20,000 Leagues Under the Sea''
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
External links
*
''20,000 Leagues Under the Sea''a
DBCult Film Institute*
{{DEFAULTSORT:20000 Leagues Under The Sea (1954 Film)
1954 films
1950s science fiction adventure films
American science fiction adventure films
1950s English-language films
Films adapted into comics
Films based on Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas
Films based on science fiction novels
Films directed by Richard Fleischer
Films produced by Walt Disney
Films scored by Paul Smith (composer)
Films set in San Francisco
Films set in the Pacific Ocean
Films set in 1868
Films shot in Jamaica
Films shot in the Bahamas
Films that won the Best Visual Effects Academy Award
Films whose art director won the Best Art Direction Academy Award
Sea adventure films
Underwater civilizations in fiction
Walt Disney Pictures films
CinemaScope films
Films set in New Guinea
1950s American films
English-language science fiction adventure films