Shoreline Entertainment has bought the rights to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea sequel Captain Nemo, with Hugh Bonneville set to star.
The 3D film has been billed as a 'steampunk' tale, continuing the adventures of Captain Nemo as he joins forces with President Ulysses Grant to battle an evil genius who is causing naval disasters.
Pearry Teo will direct, with filming beginning in August in Beijing (the project has been partially financed by Chinese investors).
Bonneville's most famous film roles have seen him playing Hugh Grant’s bumbling friend in Notting Hil l and Kate Winslet’s husband in Iris , but he's currently better known for his TV work.
Right now he's filming the second series of the smash-hit ITV period romp Downton Abbey , which drew record numbers of TV viewers last year.
After that, he'll start work on Julian Fellowes’ new mini-series Titanic , to be shown next year to coincide with the 100 year anniversary of the ship's sinking.
He will next be seen in the BBC comedy Twenty Twelve starring as one of the lead organisers of the upcoming Olympics.
Captain Nemo is not to be confused with Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea adaptation, which David Fincher is tentatively attached to direct at some unspecified point in the future.
