Has James Cameron’s love of the deep blue sea rubbed off on Aussie director Peter Weir?

Sure seems that way. According to Hollywood Reporter, Weir is returning to troubled waters after his 2003 epic Oscar nominee Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. He is currently in negotiations to direct the film Shadow Divers for Fox 2000, written by Bill Broyles (Castaway).

The film is based on Robert Kurson’s best-selling nonfiction book Shadow Divers: The True Adventure of Two Americans Who Discovered Hitler's Lost Sub. The story is about two of the world’s most competent deep-sea wreck divers who find a sunken U-boat 60 miles off the coast of New Jersey (apparentely, something exciting occasionally happens there). Despite the hazards involved, the divers risk their lives to identify the submarine over the next 6 years.

Weir has been making films since the early 70s, and although Master got the most attention in recent years, I tip my hat to the powerful, under-appreciated Fearless, not to be confused with the action-packed Jet Li flick. If you’ve never seen it, drop what you’re doing and rent it today (but please, not at Blockbuster—have a little dignity).