Reports have been surfacing left and right online claiming David Fincher‘s next feature project will not be a follow-up to last year’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo but an adaptation of Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
After his Oscar winning duo of both Dragon Tattoo and The Social Network, David Fincher has been quite coy in choosing his next project. One is fair in assuming that, since his success in adapting Steig Larsson’s first novel, it would make perfect sense for Fincher to move on to adapting the next in the series. A director of David Fincher’s caliber always has a number of options on the table, but the famed talent only has one in mind: a 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea remake.
Disney – who’ll be greenlighting the project – has put a three-month hold on Fincher to see if 20,000 Leagues can get off the ground while he awaits a draft for The Girl Who Played with Fire, the next film adaptation in Steig Larsson’s three-part series. He’s called upon frequent collaborator Brad Pitt for aid in gaining momentum for Leagues, even offering the A-lister the lead role of Ned Lands.
After seeing David Fincher and Brad Pitt’s work in such films as Se7en, Fight Club, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, the prospect of the two working together is downright mouthwatering. It’s hard to name a better director or leading man working in entertainment today. To make the project even more tantalizing, Fincher has reportedly brought in Se7en screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker to do some work on the 20,000 Leagues script.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is by no means grounded or realistic – the type of film David Fincher usually flocks to. But then again, neither was Benjamin Button. We now know Fincher can use those creative muscles even amongst CGI, 3D and other elements of the fantastic to produce a truly great product. We’re sure more exciting (rather than disappointing) news about this project will soon emerge.
