Empires of the Deep

Plot

The eight mermaid kingdoms have reigned as the protectors of the oceans since the creation of Earth, but the current peace comes under threat from the re-emergence of the Demon Mage and his legions. After his village is caught up in the conflict, a Greek hero named Atlas sets out with his friend Trajin to rescue Atlas's father and bring back the holy Temple of Poseidon, which has been stolen by an army of mermen knights.

Cast

Olga Kurylenko as The Mermaid Queen

Shi Yanfei as Aka

Steve Polites as Atlas

Maxx Maulion as Trajin

Jonathan Kos-Read as The King of the Ocean

Aaron Shang as Adjutant Stavros

Kerry Berry Brogan as Dada

Sam Voutas as Papos

Pierre Bourdaud as Gava

Jean-Michel Casanova as The Pirate Captain

Liang Yanfei as a Mermaid

Pierre Reno as "The One-Eyed Ogre"

William Shriver as Merchant

Alec Su as a Mermen Kingdom Soldier

Adam Days as Prince Alastair Crowe

Andre Queme as Pirate

Production

The film is the pet project of Chinese billionaire realtor Jon Jiang (Jiang Hongyu), who came up with the story and financed part of the film's budget. A cinephile, he believed that with his wealth he could make an epic film in the same vein of those from Hollywood filmmakers Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Peter Jackson. The original title of the film was Mermaid Island.

The film was reported to be a major US-Chinese co-production, with its production budget reported to be over $130 million, though according to some cast and crew members the film's budget was actually much less, at least initially. In 2007, Jiang hired regular James Cameron-collaborator Randall Frakes to develop the story and write the initial script. According to Jiang, the screenplay eventually went through 40 drafts and took over four years to complete using a total of ten screenwriters. Initially Monica Bellucci was set to star in the film as the Mermaid Queen, although she eventually dropped out and Sharon Stone was courted and then replaced with Olga Kurylenko, who was reportedly paid $1 million for the role. Steve Polites, who played the male lead of Atlas, signed up for a potential trilogy of films.

Jiang tried to persuade Irvin Kershner to direct the film, but the director preferred to film a version pitched by Frakes that was set in the modern day. When Jiang refused, both Frakes and Kershner left the production. Catwoman director Pitof was ultimately hired to direct, though he also dropped out over disagreements with Jiang before filming started. Filming began in 2009 in China under the helm of commercial and music video director Jonathan Lawrence. Jiang also formed a production and visual effects company, Fontelysee Pictures, to work on the movie. Much of the film was shot on location in Fujian and outside of Beijing, as well as on soundstages in the capital.

The film was planned to be the start of a franchise on the scale of Star Wars or The Lord of the Rings, with a trilogy to be made and an accompanying animated series, video games and a theme park in China. Jiang also described to Lawrence his vision for the film as "Transformers meets Shakespeare"; Lawrence responded that the film would likely "alienate one of those audiences".

Despite his role as producer of the film, Jiang rarely appeared on set, preferring to liaise with Lawrence via the film's co-producer and assistant director. In interviews Lawrence has revealed the difficulties he encountered during his time filming the movie, including cultural clashes between the Chinese crew and the overseas talent, disagreements with the film's cinematographer over their working styles which resulted in filming slowing down to a crawl, and frustration over Jiang's control over various aspects of the film production, such as casting, the set and costume design, and an insistence on shooting on location, which was often a cold and wet experience. Lawrence was also troubled by the less stringent safety requirements on set, and at one point he witnessed an assault on a crew member by a camera operator but was persuaded not to intervene. There were also communication difficulties between him and Jiang, as well as other members of the crew, partially due to Lawrence's translator's fear of offending Jiang. At one point Lawrence joked about building a large wall to hide a resort on a beach from view of the film cameras; due to a mistranslation he found a wall actually being built when he arrived to shoot at the location. Lawrence, who envisioned the film as an epic and fun adventure in the same vein of Raiders of the Lost Ark, also attempted to rewrite the script, which he believed had potential but found convoluted and full of plot holes, but faced pushback from Jiang over his proposed changes. During one heated meeting, a frustrated Lawrence told Jiang to his face that the script was the worst thing he had ever read. Despite their frequent disagreements, Jiang still respected Lawrence.

Marketing and failed release

On April 27, 2010, director Michael French and stars Olga Kurylenko, Steve Polites, Shi Yanfei and Jonathan Kos-Read appeared at a press conference held at a studio in Beijing, where they presented a trailer for the film, with journalists given 3D glasses to wear. In the following months Jon Jiang gave foreign journalists, including those from The Hollywood Reporter and The New York Times, tours of the set. On June 9, 2010, over one hundred on-set photos from the film were revealed.

In late 2012, a trailer for the film appeared online, advertising a 2013 release date. It received a largely negative response.

In January 2016, the producers launched a crowdfunding campaign seeking 1 million yuan ($150k) in funding. The campaign included a new trailer with updated visual effects. The producers advertised an April 2016 release date for the film; however the campaign was unsuccessful. Polites, who had seen an unfinished cut of the film, believed that post-production work on the scale of an Avengers film would be needed to complete the film to a releasable standard.

As of September 2026, the film remains unreleased.