Prime Video grabs UK, Ireland rights to scrapped Disney+ original Nautilus

Prime Video has picked up rights to Nautilus after Disney+ scrapped plans to air the series

Amazon-owned Prime Video has picked up rights in the UK and Ireland to fantasy adventure series Nautilus after Disney+ scrapped plans to air the live-action series despite the fact it was already shot.

The 10-episode project, based on French novelist Jules Verne’s 1870 novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, will launch exclusively on Prime Video in the UK and Ireland on October 25.

The deal with Amazon comes after AMC and AMC+ took the linear and streaming rights in the US and Canada, while Nautilus launched on SVT Play in Sweden in June and France Télévisions on streamer france.tv and linear network France 2 this month.

Disney revealed a year ago that it would not air the Australia-shot series, noting at the time that it would seek a new home.

Created by James Dormer, produced by UK prodcos Moonriver TV and Seven Stories, and distributed by Disney Entertainment, Nautilus tells the origin story of Captain Nemo, the Indian Prince determined to take revenge on those who have robbed him of his birthright and family.

The project stars Shazad Latif, Georgia Flood, Thierry Frémont and Céline Menville, with guest appearances from Richard E Grant, Anna Torv and Noah Taylor.

It is developed and produced by Moonriver’s Xavier Marchand and Seven Stories’ Anand Tucker and is written and executive produced by Dormer.

Other exec producers on the project include Johanna Devereaux, who has since left Disney to join Apple TV+’s scripted team in London, Chris Loveall, Colleen Woodcock and Daisy Gilbert. Michael Matthews is the lead director, with later episodes directed by Ben Lucas and Isabelle Sieb.

The production was supported by the Australian Government’s Location Incentive and from the Queensland Government via Screen Queensland’s Production Attraction Strategy.