Director Kirk Wise has revealed Disney's original plan for a since-cancelled Treasure Planet, putting a similar 2D animated sci-fi spin on Treasure Island.
This break from tradition didn't last long; both Atlantis and Treasure Planet disappointed commercially and drew mixed reviews, prompting Disney to abandon any plans of continuing their stories. By that point, they'd already completed three episodes for an Atlantis TV series, titled Team Atlantis, so they scuttled the rest of the show and stitched the episodes together as a direct to video sequel called Atlantis: Milo's Return (released in 2003). As it turns out, the filmmakers behind Atlantis had already mapped a proper theatrical sequel by that point, too.
In a recent interview with The Hunchback of Note Dame), along with story supervisor John Sanford, had mapped out a "full-blown" sequel to Atlantis before the first movie premiered. He summarized the plot as follows:
“We were going to have a new villain in the story. The villain was going to be wearing big, scary, wool, bulky, World War I-style clothing with a frightening gasmask to obscure it’s face; a little Darth Vader-esque. And this villain was going to try and retake Atlantis and finish the job that Rourke was unable to accomplish. And the big twist in the climax of the movie is that the villain is unmasked and it turns out to be Helga Sinclair. Plot twist!"
For those who need a refresher: Helga is the second-in-command to Lyle Tiberius Rourke, the head of the mission to find Atlantis in the film. Unknown to Milo, they and the rest of the team are actually mercenaries who plan to rob the lost kingdom of its treasures - at least, before he gets a number of them to change their minds and him in defending Atlantis from Rourke, Helga, and their remaining troops. Whereas the latter was a cross between a femme fatale and a ruthless soldier in the first movie, the sequel would've seen her become (as Wise puts it) "an early-20th-century cyborg" after she was - seemingly - fatally injured by Rourke during their scuffle in the climax of the original film. It's an interesting twist that would've given the sequel a baddie motivated by more than greed, unlike the first Atlantis. Whether the sequel would've worked as a whole, that's up for debate.
It's a shame Atlantis never got a proper continuation. The movie has its flaws (most notably, Milo is a White Savior protagonist), but the TV show and/or full-blown sequel could've improved on its story issues while continuing to explore the fascinating mythology of Atlantis in the film's gorgeous 2D animation (which is done in the style of Hellboy creator and comic book writer-artist Mike Mignola, who served as a production designer). Atlantis has since attracted a cult following in the years since its release, and many of its fans have argued the movie would actually be a fitting choice to get a live-action remake. It probably won't happen since the original animated Atlantis bombed at the box office... but if it ever does, it could potentially use some of the ideas Wise and his collaborators had in mind for their cancelled sequel.
Source: Collider
