Update: ThePlaylist report that Fincher is looking at a slate of potential stars, with Channing Tatum being the one whose name is getting the most traction. (Maybe it’s a weird sort of trade-off with Soderbergh.) However, at the same time, it turns out Gone Girl, though only a recent sign, is a real enough option that, if with enough traction, could knock off Leagues altogether. The original story can be read below.
David Fincher’s percolating adaptation of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea has had its share of ups and downs during its development stage. Back in October it was reported that Fincher was eyeing his Benjamin Button and Se7en star Brad Pitt for the role of Nemo, but THR has learned he will not be taking the role of captain of the Nautilus, however production is still moving forward.
While it would appear that the hunt for Fincher’s Nemo is still on, last fall it was reported that the future of 20,000 Leagues using Australia as a location “hung in the balance” of a pending decision on increasing a “location offset”subsidy from the Australian government. Disney decided not to greenlight the project and put a three-month hold on production until a decision from the ministry had been reached.
However, today it looks like things may be taking a turn for the better for the remake of the Jules Verne classic. The Daily Telegraph has confirmed that Disney execs are meeting today in Canberra with federal arts minister Simon Crean and it would appear that things are finally moving in the right direction for the Disney ocean epic. The federal arts ministry has reportedly granted government approval to the deal for 20,000 Leagues and Disney chiefs will likely greenlight the production, which would mark the largest ever in Australia.
With a script penned by Scott Z. Burns (The Borne Ultimatum, Side Effects) and rewrites by Se7en screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker, expect casting to come together shortly for a likely late 2014 or 2015 release.
Are you disappointed that Pitt has bowed out? Who do you think should star?