Mystical creatures of the sea swim in a new animated family film for Netflix. “The Sea Beast” stars voice actor Karl Urban as monster hunter Jacob Holland, who has to deal with the fugitive Maisie Brumble aboard her esteemed ship while her team tries to locate a legendary whale. . Together, the unlikely duo join forces to wade into uncharted waters and make history.
Academy Award-winning writer-director Chris Williams ("Moana," "Big Hero Six") is behind Netflix's latest family movie, which opens July 8. Nell Benjamin co-writes the screenplay, and Jared Harris, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Dan Stevens and Kathy Burke co-star in the film.
According to a previous interview with Variety, filmmaker Williams was inspired (literally) by illustrations of sea creatures from 16th- and 17th-century maps. “The Sea Beast” was announced in 2018 and the film is produced by Jed Schlanger.
“The Sea Beast” marks Williams' first solo feature film directing effort. Originally titled "Jacob and the Sea Beast," the film is the "type of story he always wanted to tackle," Williams said in a press release at the time. “It is a story of great adventure in which our hero leaves the known world and ventures into unknown waters. Turns out I'm doing the same thing."
Williams is an Oscar winner for "Big Hero 6." He was also nominated for best animated feature film for "Bolt." While he is "grateful for the opportunities" that Disney offers, Williams is now associated with Netflix. “I feel a great energy at Netflix as incredibly talented artists from a wide variety of backgrounds come together to build something new,” added Williams.
Meanwhile, the cast behind “The Sea Beast” have a host of other non-nautical projects in the works. Urban returns for Prime Video's "The Boys" Season 3, which premieres June 3, and co-star Hator will star in the upcoming drama series "The Power" about a group of teenage girls who mysteriously develop the power to electrocute their people at will. Leslie Mann, Alice Eve and John Leguizamo also star.