Nautilus on AMC: Captain Nemo’s Darker Origin Story Promises Epic Adventure and Real History
Get ready for a fresh take on classic adventure, because Nautilus is about to dive deep—way deeper and darker than Indiana Jones ever did! This new AMC series, premiering June 29, tells the untold origin of Captain Nemo from Jules Verne’s legendary “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas.” But don’t expect just another swashbuckling hero story. Nautilus flips the script, giving us Nemo as an Indian prince fighting back against the mighty British East India Company.
- Origin story of Captain Nemo like you’ve never seen
- Focus on historical oppression and adventure
- Family-friendly, but not afraid to get dark
- Big budget, sea monsters, and naval battles
- Premiere on AMC and AMC Plus, June 29
From Bollywood Villains to Undersea Rebels
Showrunner James Dormer brings real-world experience to the series, having worked as a British diplomat in New Delhi during India’s 50th independence anniversary. Dormer explains, “You’re telling a story from the point of view of people who have been oppressed.” That’s a big shift from the usual Hollywood adventure formula.
The series starts with Nemo (played by Shazad Latif), French engineer Gustave Benoit (Thierry Frémont), and a diverse group of captives forced to build the Nautilus. The East India Company wants to use the submarine against China, but Nemo and his allies have other plans—they steal the vessel and set off on a wild chase across ten action-packed episodes.
Not Your Typical Family Adventure
Dormer wanted Nautilus to be a show his own kids could watch, even though it doesn’t shy away from tough topics like child labor and racism. “It’s not like you’re doing Indiana Jones where there’s a white hero running around stealing people’s relics. You’re telling a story from the point of view of people who have been oppressed. You have to feel the weight of that on them sometimes.”
Verne’s Spirit, Modern Action
Dormer admits he hadn’t read the original Verne novel until he joined the project, but was surprised by its themes of oppression and environmentalism—both of which pop up in the show. In episode two, for example, the crew saves a pod of whales. Dormer says, “There was also a lot about mollusks, which isn’t inherently dramatic, so we had some license to pimp it up.”
Shazad Latif’s performance as Nemo promises to be a highlight, balancing the character’s darkness with a journey that feels real and resonant.
Big Budget, Big Ambitions
Nautilus isn’t holding back on spectacle. Dormer was thrilled to have the resources to go big, with massive sets, sea monsters, and epic naval battles. “There was a scene we wrote where Nemo jumps onto a whale, and then there’s another ship that gets broken in half,” he says. “I write that stuff assuming that it’s then going to get cut back… But with this show, it was like, ‘let’s do that, and can we actually do it bigger.’”
Over 700 people worked on the production, and they even created a detailed manual for how the Nautilus submarine works. Dormer feels lucky to have been a part of it, saying, “I feel we just sneaked in at the end of peak TV.”
The first two episodes of Nautilus premiere June 29 on AMC and AMC Plus, with new episodes dropping every Sunday. Dive in for an adventure that goes deeper than you’d expect!
