One of SFX ’s favourite actors makes his directorial debut
Jules Verne’s Mysterious Island , the directorial debut of SFX fave actor Mark Sheppard ( Battlestar Galactica , Doctor Who , Supernatural , Firefly ) airs on the US Syfy channel on 11 February. Filmed on location in Louisiana, this epic adaptation of Jules Verne’s 1874 novel The Mysterious Island ( L'Île mystérieuse ) stars Pruitt Taylor Vince, Lochlyn Munro and Sheppard himself, as the young Captain Nemo.
“We were faced with a tremendous challenge. It’s always hard to bring Jules Verne’s stories to life – you run the risk of upsetting an awful lot of diehard fans. But we tried to stay true to some of the key elements of the book in the spirit of what makes Jules Verne one of the greatest storytellers of all time,” says Sheppard.
As famine and death ravage Richmond, Virginia, five northern Civil War POWs, including Pruitt Taylor Vince ( The Walking Dead , JFK , Drive Angry , Constantine ) and Lochlyn Munro ( Dead Man On Campus , White Chicks ) escape by hijacking a hot air balloon. Drifting through the night, they wake to find themselves marooned on a desert island … but they’re not alone. Littered with wreckage, the island is home to a cast of survivors who have been lost in space and time, including sisters Abby Fogg ( Battle Los Angeles ’s Susie Abromeit) and Jules Fogg (Syfy’s Flash Gordon and Alien vs. Predator ’s Gina Holden), two young women from modern times who become stranded while flying over the Bermuda Triangle.
Forced to defend themselves against vicious pirates, terrifying creatures and a volcano that’s ready to blow, they must find a way to survive. Their only hope to escape the island lies with its longest resident, Captain Nemo (Mark Sheppard’s real life father – W Morgan Sheppard). With his help, they craft another plan… but will they make it before the island claims them all forever?
For more information, visit www.julesvernesmysteriousisland.com .
