Bryan Singer to Direct ‘20,000 Leagues Under the Sea’

Where do you go after the apocalypse? Under the sea, apparently.

Via an Instagram post, director Bryan Singer announced today what he’ll be doing after he finishes his fourth X-Men movie, X-Men: Apocalypse: He’ll direct a new version of Jules Verne’s classic science-fiction adventure novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. As the picture makes clear, Singer also co-wrote the film with Rick Sordelet (a stunt man and fight coordinator, according to his IMDb page) and Dan Studney (who previously worked on Singer’s Jack the Giant Slayer)

Verne’s novel has served as the basis for movies for over a century. In 1907, the famous silent filmmaker George Méliès made a short version; in 1997, Michael Caine starred in a made-for-TV adaptation with Patrick Demsey and Mia Sara. The most famous film version of 20,000 Leagues was made in 1954 by director Richard Fleischer, and starred James Mason as Captain Nemo and Kirk Douglas as Ned Land. Here’s that one’s trailer:

For years, there was discussion of a new 20,000 Leagues directed by David Fincher (and possibly starring his Se7en and Curious Case of Benjamin Button star Brad Pitt), but the movie never quite came together. Instead, it’ll be Singer who tries his hand at a story he says is “very dear to [his] heart.” He also notes that making this movie doesn’t mean he’s done with the X-Men either, which is good news for fans of Days of Future Past. Singer’s X-Men: Apocalypse, starring Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence and, of course, Hugh Jackman, opens in theaters on May 27, 2016.