The most important science fiction novel deserves a serious modern adaptation

Pa Jonathan Klotz
| Updated 1 hour ago

When I was a kid in Disney World 20,000 leagues under water was my favorite ride, and within 20 minutes, which is an eternity compared to modern park rides, I fulfilled my childhood dream of sailing with Captain Nemo aboard the Nautilus. The ride was closed in 1994 and replaced by The little mermaid. It’s been 30 years and Jules Verne’s classic novel still hasn’t been featured in the Disney parks, and even worse, hasn’t received a modern film adaptation, despite being the novel that helped launch the entire science fiction genre.

The book that popularized science fiction

Jules Verne 20,000 leagues under water was a huge success after its release in 1869, when it was first serialized, and then again in 1871, when an illustrated version hit bookstores around the world. As with most classic science fiction works, Verne invented the Nautilus, Captain Nemo’s advanced submarine, which he used to terrorize the sea lanes. However, given Nemo’s motivations as a pure scientist and nature lover, Verne inadvertently created the first ecoterrorist.

At first glance, the novel is a science fiction adventure, but dig a little deeper and there are references to the political upheavals of the time, the impact of the industrial revolution and how the natural world is becoming forever tainted. 20,000 leagues under water there’s a lot going on under the surface, but instead of making it difficult to adapt, it helps make it easy and relevant even today, almost 150 years after it was first published. Which makes it all the more surprising that the novel was last adapted into a film 70 years ago.

The latest major adaptation

20,000 leagues under water, released in 1954. by the Walt Company Disneystarring Kirk Douglas as the harpooner Ned Land, and one of Hollywood’s classic actors, James Mason, as Captain Nemo’s honey, was a smash hit, and although box office figures at the time are hard to come by, it is estimated to have grossed around $8 million over four years, or $91 million adjusted for inflation. This is almost double Joker 2’s general domestic treasury.

Mixing parts Mysterious islandan underrated sequel novel, with an original novel, 20,000 leagues under waterthe film is still an accurate, at least to 1954 sensibilities, adaptation of the groundbreaking story. Nemo’s rough, nihilistic edges are toned down somewhat, but Mason does a great job with a complex character who is both hero and villain, depending on who you ask. \

Nautilus has good intentions, but fails

Despite the lack of a modern adaptation, which makes no sense given the success of the 1954 film, the BBC adapted 20,000 leagues under water for the new series Nautiluswhich is well-intentioned and wonderfully acted, but makes no sense. The modern series is the origin story of Nemo and the iconic submarine, changing his book origins as a fallen Indian prince to make him a slave to the East India Company, a villain for 19th-century naval adventures.

Instead of being a man of science who considers himself above the hustle and bustle of the human world, Nemo, who plays Star Trek: Opening Shazad Latif, c Nautilus embarks on a quest for revenge against a British corporation, which mostly works, but then again, it’s not exactly Nemo. He’s a tormented and broken man, but as a huge fan of the 1954 film and the original novel, he’s missing something as a prequel, which may be on purpose, and at least someone is trying to tell the story today, even if it deserves a bigger stage.

We need an IMAX spectacle

Imagine a blockbuster 20,000 leagues under water playing on IMAX screen. All the magnificent underwater scenery of the Pacific Ocean, combined with the terror of deep-sea giant squid, storms on the surface and tropical islands shimmering in the ocean, this is a story that needs to be told in the widest possible format. We deserve a new version of Jules Verne’s groundbreaking story that finally lives up to his original vision.