This section was originally made to bring news about the possible feature film based on Ulysses 31. This project now seem more and more unlikely to ever materialise, so I'll use this space to dream a little about how I would have made the film.

First a summary on the alleged feature film:

A rumour started on the Internet in the summer of 1998 about a live action film based on Ulysses 31. Most of this information has later been traced back to a French fan who calls himself Mysterio. According to Mysterio the French newspaper La Tribune ran a story confirming that a film was actually underway. The French studio Le Studio Canal+ (Stargate) had supposedly bought the rights and was going to produce the film with Jean Pierre Jeunet (Alien Resurrection) at the helm. The budget was going to be somewhere around $80 million, and they were going to use the autumn of 1998 to look for filming locations in Greece and Cyprus. The film was set for a summer 1999 release.

Casting rumours were also floating around. Barry Gibb from the Bee Gees was supposed to have been casted as Ulysses, Brad Renfro (The Client) as Telemachus and Warwick Davies (Willow and Return of the Jedi) as Nono. Former Man Utd football star Eric Cantona was going be Zeus and Antoine de Caunes (Eurotrash) was also said to be involved in the project.

The manager of the French filmsite Mister W have later been in contact with an employee at Le Studio Canal+. He said that these rumours were NOT true. The only thing that was confirmed was that Le Studio Canal+ had indeed bought the film rights. No more news have since surfaced concerning this project.

What a film could be like:

Finding the right actor for the role of Ulysses is undoubtedly the hardest casting task. He would have to reflect both the sincerity and the resolve of the character. A likeness to the animated version wouldn't hurt either. Many actors have been suggested, but I think I've found the right one. This is the American actor John Corbett from Northern Exposure and The Visitor. Look at the pictures below, you have to admit that there is a strong resemblance.


Two fans of the series on the mailinglist called Thaima and David made this great picture, and it really illustrates my point.

I don't have any preferences for the role of Telemachus, but I think Yumi would be best portrayed by someone of Chinese or Japanese origin. Nono should be either CGI or some sort of remote controlled unit. I guess the first one is most realistic.

They should also keep all the spaceship designs and to a certain extent the mood in the music. It would be a shame to drop the things that really worked in the animated series.

If you have any information or an opinion about the film, please e-mail me.