David Fincher's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

[Lord_Stewie]

Hey,

Don't know about you but McG is helming this project. Not a big fan of his work.

Check it out.

The script for the upcoming McG directed 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea remake was originally written by Bill Marsilii (Deja Vu) and Justin Marks (Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li). But today we learn from The Hollywood Reporter that Oscar-nominated screenwriter Randall Wallace (Braveheart, Pearl Harbor), has been brought on to rewrite Disney’s update of the classic Jules Verne tale.



THR reports that Wallace’s rewrite aims to focus (the newly titled) Captain Nemo: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea on:

“the origin of Captain Nemo and his submarine warship, the Nautilus. Nemo is a mysterious but noble antagonist in the book, a scientific genius with a thirst for knowledge and a desire for revenge against the forces of imperialism.”

A lesser-known sequel to Nemo was later written by Jules Verne called The Mysterious Island, which revealed Captain Nemo as an Indian Prince who took part in a rebellion and lost his wife and children. It is currently unknown just how close Disney will stick to this character backstory (if they do at all), but Wallace’s rewrite will reportedly make the film “decidedly action-adventure.”

With the success Disney has had with the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, I am not surprised that’s the route they want to take with Nemo…

With the type of story that the original 20,000 Leagues is, I can definitely see the appeal for Disney to turn it into a modern day big-budget action-adventure movie. The issues with Hollywood remaking yet another project aside, 20,000 Leagues has both the decades-old story and the modern-day special effects to merge together. I can see this one being a big hit at the box-office if it’s done right.

There’s no word on WHY Wallace was brought on to rewrite Nemo, so that just leaves us all to speculate.

Captain Nemo: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is currently in pre-production and doesn’t have a release date as of yet.

--------------------------------------------------------

UPDATE:

Originally Posted by Duffy12

David Fincher To Tackle Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea Remake.

A while back, Disney scrapped Terminator Salvation director McG's darker version of Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. Now Disney's talking with a new director, David Fincher of Fight Club and Se7en. His oeuvre ain't sunshine and rainbows.

According to THR, Fincher got the gig this winter by approaching Disney about directing "a four-quadrant tentpole movie." Also, Bourne Ultimatum writer Scott Z. Burns will pen the script. Verne's 1869 novel is in public domain, but Disney is turning to the book once again as part of an initiative to resurrect established properties (see: Tron Legacy, Race To Witch Mountain ). It appears that Disney is capitalizing on the nostalgia of their 1954 version starring Kirk Douglas.

The last time we saw Captain Nemo in a big-ticket blockbuster was 2003's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, in which he practiced some fancy kung-fu. I doubt that Nemo's close combat expertise will make Fincher's cut, but hey, at least we won't have Drew Barrymore tearing through the Nautilus on a dirt bike.

UPDATE 5/16/10: Also, how will Disney's adaptation fare given that Fox is making their own version of 20,000 Leagues with Ridley and Tony Scott producing, Clash of The Titans writer Travis Beacham on scripts, and Wanted's Timur Bekmambetov in talks to direct? Oh, public domain!

Enjoy.