Randall Wallace (“Braveheart”) has been brought aboard to rewrite “Captain Nemo: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” for director McG and Disney.

Bill Marsilii and Justin Marks had been previously working on the script.

The new flick – which Will Smith has been long touted for – aims to tell the origin of Captain Nemo and his submarine warship, the Nautilus. Nemo is a mysterious but noble antagonist in the book, a scientific genius with a thirst for knowledge and a desire for revenge against the forces of imperialism.

In Verne’s lesser-known sequel, “The Mysterious Island,” Nemo is revealed as Indian Prince Dakkar, a rajah’s son who took part in a failed rebellion and lost his wife and children. It is unclear how close to that back story Disney will stick, but “Nemo’s” tone will be decidedly action-adventure.

The Hollywood Reporter has more