Disney pulls plug on McG's Captain Nemo

One is a mysterious seafarer, wielding technologies far beyond the grasp of contemporary science. The other is the Fresh Prince, famed for his “nice, clean rap”. One man (with only one, slightly silly, name) apparently wanted to bring them together. But sadly his dream is set to go unrealised, as Disney has keelhauled McG's proposed version of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

The Charlie's Angels and Terminator Salvation director had been set to shoot his take on Jules Verne's nineteenth-century science-fiction novel this coming February, with Will Smith the main name linked to the role of the enigmatic Captain Nemo. However Variety reports that 20,000 Leagues has been the losing blockbuster following the recent departure of Disney boss Dick Cook, with McG's hi-tech sub being scuttled, while fellow mega-budget extravaganzas John Carter of Mars and Tron Legacy proceed unhindered. Although the official line from the House of Creepy Smiley Mouse is that Bill Marsilli's script for 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo is simply on hold and may still go into production in the future, McG has severed all ties to the movie and will instead focus his energies on other projects. One of which will apparently be a fourth Terminator sequel, following the box-office success of this summer's Salvation, and McG is also attached as director of Dead Spy Running, a Jon Stock novel which has been adapted by Stephen Gaghan (Traffic and Syriana).

The news of Disney's decision is likely to be broadly welcomed by most outside of the McG household, with the proto-steampunk aesthetic of Verne's novel and the proposed casting of Will Smith a combination which could trigger a million and one horrific Wild Wild West flashbacks. Yet it does leave Captain Nemo still waiting for another stab at big screen stardom, having previously been portrayed by the likes of James Mason in the earlier Disney take on 20,000 Leagues, and Inspector Clouseau's superior, Herbert Lom, in 1961's Mysterious Island.

Disney is not allowing itself to be caught short in terms of eye-wateringly expensive, nautical-themed projects though, with Chicago's Rob Marshall all set to confirm his long-rumoured engagement in the director's chair for the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film, apparently entitled Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Of Stupider Titles, more like...