Connery, Fox in 'Gentlemen' agreement
21 February 2002

Chris Gardner

20th Century Fox has closed a deal with Sean Connery for the actor to topline the Steve Norrington-directed "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen." Shooting is scheduled to start in the summer on the Don Murphy-produced project, budgeted in the $80 million range. Scripted by James Robinson, "Gentlemen" is described as a period-piece "X-Men." It is understood that Connery's deal includes sequel commitments. "Gentlemen" is based on the Alan Moore-penned Victorian era-set comic book about various literary protagonists -- including Captain Nemo, Dr. Jekyll, Allan Quatermain and Mina Harker -- called upon by Queen Victoria to thwart an evil madman. Connery had been in talks with the studio about the project.