20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Bryan Singer movie lands at Fox

Fox is ready for a deep dive with Bryan Singer.

The studio and filmmaker have closed a deal to bring Jules Verne’s classic sci-fi novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea to the big screen, EW has confirmed.

Singer, who is perhaps best known as the architect of Fox’s blockbuster X-Men franchise, originally announced the project via Instagram in September, calling it “a story I’ve wanted to retell since childhood.”

Rick Sordelet and Dan Studney wrote the screenplay, from a story by them and Singer. The movie is eyeing a fall production start, so casting decisions should be coming down the pipeline.

First published as a novel in 1870, 20,000 Leagues chronicles the underwater adventures of the mysterious Captain Nemo, as seen through the eyes of three accidental passengers on his ship, the Nautilus. The story, which is in the public domain, has been adapted on film and TV several times, including an Oscar-winning version with Kirk Douglas and James Mason in 1954.

Deadline first reported the deal.