Not much was known of the new Captain Nemo: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea movie that was well on its way to us, but one might imagine that Disney had plans of bringing another massive water-filled adventure much like their Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. They had gotten so far as to hire Terminator Salvation director McG to helm the flick, and names like Will Smith were rumored for the role of Captain Nemo. None of this matters anymore now, as Disney has slammed the brakes on with force and stopped all forward progress on the project.

The movie was set to tell an origins tale of the fabled Captain Nemo and the building of his ship, the Nautilus. It was actually on the fast track at one point, but it appears that the controversial firing of popular chairman Dick Cook may have knocked it off its course for the time being. The original 1954 film starred Kirk Douglas and it was Disney’s very first live-action film production.

McG’s representatives confirmed that the director was no longer working on the film, and that he would be moving on to other projects like still-possible Terminator 5 and something called Dead Spy Running. Because of the backlash he received from many for Terminator Salvation, this news is likely of the happy variety, and if Disney ever brings 20,000 Leagues back to life, it will be interesting to see who they pursue then.

[Source: Variety]