Bryan Singer is one of the few major Hollywood directors who has really embraced social media. He's used Twitter and Instagram to not only offer first looks at cast and locations for his last two X-Men movies, but he regularly uses it to announce news. And to mark his 50th birthday, he decided to share some news that's also a bit of a present to himself: His next movie will be 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
Singer doesn't mention what studio is making the movie, so we don't know if this is for Disney or Fox, both of which had been working on new adaptations of the classic Jules Verne novel about an undersea adventure, or another studio entirely. But, that also doesn't matter so much. Since Verne's novel, originally published way back in 1869, is in the public domain, anyone can make a movie about it if they want to. (Watch the trailer for the 1954 version, starring Kirk Douglas, below.)
Singer's Instagram of the just-completed script, written by Rick Sordelet and Dan Studeny based on a story by them and Singer, also came with a note that 20,000 Leagues is a story he's wanted to tell since childhood, and that his version will be "an epic and emotional adventure for all ages."
And if you're worried this means Singer is turning his back on the X-Men world he had just returned to, he swears he's coming back. Apocalypse's May 27, 2016 release date means he'll be tied up with it for a while, so we can't blame him for wanting to tackle something not set in that mutant world.
