The Wolverine director James Mangold is being lined up to direct Captain Nemo for Disney, a new spin on Jules Verne's classic novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
This would be an origin story for the book's (anti-)hero Nemo, the son of a 19th century Raja who is a scientific genius and fierce anti-imperialist. He's wracked with guilt when circumstances force him to kill - or bring about the death of - any of his crew, but he's also implacable in his pursuit of vengeance on those who have wronged him.
The film was originally in development back in 2013 with David Fincher directing, but he couldn't find an approach that worked with the studio's commercial aims.
It will now be up to Mangold to find a cast and story that work both commercially and well enough to satisfy fans.
First though, he'll be making The Wolverine 3 (or whatever it is finally called), which is set to be R-rated. That presumably means that we're looking at a 2017 shoot for Captain Nemo.
To complicate matters, Bryan Singer - also a mate of the X-Men - is due to make a 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea film too, this one for 20th Century Fox, but that should be a straight adaptation rather than an origin story approach.
Singer's shoot is due to start later this year, so is likely to hit cinemas first. Who will win in the battle of the Nemos? Apart from this guy, obviously.
