DirectorDavid Fincheris best known as a master of psychological thrillers, with hits likeSe7en, Zodiac,andThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.However, his most ambitious project may have been an attempted adaptation of theJules Vernenovel20,000 Leagues Under the Seafor Disney. However, the film never got off the ground, and now Fincher is shedding some light on the roadblocks that stopped him from taking the dive.
“Look, I really wanted to do20,000 Leagues Under the Seabecause what we had in mind was really kind of gross and cool and wet and steampunk and all that,” Fincher toldLetterboxdin an interview. “Disney was in a place where they were saying, ‘We need to know that there’s a thing that we knowhow to exploit snout to tail, and you’re going to have to check these boxes for us.'” Fincher spoke more on the pushback fromDisneythat largely sunk the adaptation:
“I was like, ‘You’ve read Jules Verne, right?’ This is a story about an Indian prince who has real issues with white imperialism, and that’s what we want to do. And they were like, ‘Yeah, yeah, fine.As long as there’sa lotless ofthatin it.’ So you get to a point where you go, ‘Look, I can’t fudge this, and I don’t want you to discover at the premiere what it is that you’ve financed.It doesn’t make any sense because it’s just going to be pulling teeth for the next two years.’ And I don’t want to do that. I mean, life’s too short.”
Many Attempts Have Been Made to Redo ‘20,000 Leagues’
Fincher’s axed try was hardly the first time a reboot of20,000 Leagueshas been attempted. The original film, adapted from Verne’s novel by Disney in 1954, followed the adventures of harpooner Ned Land (Kirk Douglas) as he traveled beneath the seas aboard the famed submarineNautilusand its anti-imperialist commander, Captain Nemo. The film remains one of the classic Disney features of the studio’s early age, and various attempts have been made to recreate it, including the cancelled Disney+ seriesNautilus.
It was originally reported as far back as 2009 that a remake was in the works, withvarious directors attached besides Fincher. Once Fincher got involved, he reportedly was looking atBrad Pittfor the starring role of Ned Land, withContagion’sScott Z. BurnsandSe7en’sAndrew Kevin Walkerworking on the screenplay. The adaptation bounced around the rumor circuit from there, until it was finally reported in 2013 thatFincher had abandoned20,000 Leaguesin favor of directing the thrillerGone Girl— seemingly a good choice since that film was nominated for four Golden Globes and an Academy Award.
The 1954 adaptation of20,000 Leaguesis available to stream on Disney+.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
20000 Leagues Under the Sea is a 1954 adventure film directed by Richard Fleischer, based on the classic novel by Jules Verne. Starring Kirk Douglas, James Mason, and Paul Lukas, the story follows a group of men who encounter the enigmatic Captain Nemo and his advanced submarine, the Nautilus. The film explores their underwater escapades and the mysteries of the deep sea.
