Disney+ series Nautilus, which filmed in Australia, pulled from streamer before release

A UK Disney+ series which filmed in Australia last year has been pulled from the streamer before its release as part of a slew of cost cuts at the Hollywood studio.

An unreleased Disney+ series which filmed in Australia last year has been pulled from the streamer’s schedule.

British-produced adventure show Nautilus, which filmed in Queensland last year, will not premiere on Disney+ as originally planned, and is now being shopped around to other studios, Deadline reports.

Filming, which employed a largely-local crew, completed earlier this year on the 10-part series, which joins a host of other shows and movies that have been dropped as part of ongoing cost cuts.

Nautilus, which was estimated to have injected $96 million into the Queensland economy during production, was a prequel to the science fiction novel, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. It was set to star UK actor Shazad Latif as the lead character, Captain Nemo.

British actor Shazad Latif was leading the series as Captain Nemo. Picture: Julian Andrews

Latif filmed in Australia for most of 2022, pictured here shooting in Brisbane. Picture: Image/Josh Woning

It comes after Disney CEO Bob Iger declared in February he planned to cut $US5.5 billion in costs at the studio, including $US3 billion in non-sports content.

In May, the company unveiled its streaming content removal plan, with a goal to remove up to 50 titles from Disney+ – in which the company took on an impairment charge of between $US1.5b and $US1.8b. Eliminating programs from streaming schedules can prove handy tax writedowns.

“We are in the process of reviewing the content on our DTC services to align with the strategic changes in our approach to content curation,” Disney CFO Christine McCarthy said at the time.

“As a result, we will be removing certain content from our streaming platforms.”

Cast and crew from a new Disney production Nautilus pictured on set at the Old Museum in Brisbane in May last year. The show has since been cut. Picture: Josh Woning

A slew of shows and movies were quickly deleted from the streamer in the aftermath of the announcement, including Marvel’s Runaways, Stargirl, Artemis Fowl, Cheaper by the Dozen and Willow.

Purging titles is part of a renewed focus on profitability, not just at Disney, but several Hollywood studios.

Disney had announced the commission of Nautilus in 2021.

It began filming in February last year on the Gold Coast and Brisbane, where it shot scenes at Village Roadshow Studios and Queensland Parliament House.