Bliss Media has announced that it will be producing and financing a book-to-film adaptation of Jules Verne’s classic nautical adventure/thriller 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Additionally, Christophe Gan (Silent Hill, Brotherhood of the Wolf) has been locked to direct the feature, which will see pre-production beginning this fall.
The story, “…will move Verne’s narrative to a Chinese setting, and concept art indicated a fin de siècle, East-meets-West visual aesthetic.” Gans was in China during the Shanghai International Film Festival and is apparently searching for two Chinese actors to play the lead roles.
Per the official press release, “Bliss CEO Wei Han will produce alongside Eskwad’s Richard Grandpierre and Frédéric Doniguian, with Wild Bunch, TF1 and Pathé also on board to co-produce and distribute.”
The last time the story hit the silver screen was Richard Fleischer’s 1954 adaptation, which starred Kirk Douglas and Peter Lorre.
Gans’ last movie was 2014’s Beauty and the Beast, which starred Vincent Cassel (The Crimson Rivers) and Léa Seydoux (Spectre) in the title roles.