‘Nautilus’: Disney+ Cancels ‘20,000 Leagues’ Prequel Series!!

As part of plethora of new adventures planned for its audiences, Disney had previously announced that it would be adapting a live-action prequel series to the famed Jules Verne tale, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. The series titled Nautilus was set to follow the infamous Captain Nemo and his rise to power. However, the journey that was set to take us under the sea will no longer be moving forward.

Per Deadline, the wreck of the U.K. live-action Captain Nemo series comes as part of Disney’s streaming content removal plan unveiled in May, for which the company is taking an impairment charge of approximately $1.5 to $1.8 billion. As part of the studio’s cost-cutting measures, its streaming platforms including flagship platform Disney+ and Hulu underwent a revision of its programming with content curation being the studio’s new focus. Some of the titles to be purged on Disney+ and Hulu in May included Willow, Big Shot, Turner & Hooch, Just Beyond, Maggie, Pistol, and Little Demon.

Had the prequel series made it to the streamer, Nautilus would follow Captain Nemo in his youth, an Indian prince robbed of his birth right and family and a prisoner of the East India Company. This is the same company that so desperately hunts Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean. Written and executive produced by James Dormer, Nautilus would see the enigmatic Nemo aboard the Nautilus, alongside his crew battling various threats in “magical underwater worlds.” Known for his role as Ash Tyler on Star Trek: Discovery, Shazad Latif was cast as Nemo, with the prequel series beginning filming in February 2022 in Australia.

‘Nautilus’ Is Not Alone

Nautilus is not the only upcoming original series which has been cancelled due to these cost-cutting measures. As previously revealed, the live-action series adaptation of The Spiderwick Chronicles, based on the popular children’s fantasy books of the same name, has equally been axed. Despite being completed, the series from Paramount Television Studios and 20th Television, will be shopped around to potential buyers. The same fate awaits Nautilus as a search for a new dock begins.

Alongside the aforementioned Latif, the cast for Nautilus include Ashan Kumar as Ranbir, Pacharo Mzembe as Boniface, Andrew Shaw as Jiacomo, Arlo Green as Turan, Tyrone Ngatai as Kai, Céline Menville as Loti, Ling Cooper Tang as Suyin, and newcomer Kayden Price as Blaster. The ten episode series is directed by Michael Matthews.