Although the project has not been given the go-ahead by the studio, Variety is reporting that director David Fincher wants Brad Pitt to star in his would-be adaptation of Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
Originally scripted by Scott J. Burns, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is based on the classic Jules Verne novel of underwater adventure with Captain Nemo and the crew of his submarine vessel, the Nautilus.
Although Andrew Kevin Walker has since come aboard to provide a rewrite, Burns, recently spoke with ComingSoon.net and dropped a few details about the tone of his screenplay.
“‘20,000 Leagues’ came about because David and I were trying very hard to find something to do together,” he said. “I wanted to do something that was science fiction with David because I think science fiction is maybe the most exciting area to work in right now. David is so visually gifted that I was like, I’d love to be able to sit there at my desk and come up with any kinda crazy sh*t and know that David Fincher is going to turn it into something. As it so happened, David and I both loved ‘20,000 Leagues’ when we were kids. It was one of my favorite books. So David came to me and said that Sean Bailey had contacted him about doing ‘20,000 Leagues’ at Disney and I said, ‘I would love to do that.’Then we met with Sean who was really great and said, ‘Come to Disney and let’s try and make a really cool version of a classic story.'”
Disney has placed a three month hold on Fincher regarding the adaptation, meaning they should decide soon whether or not it will be moving forward.
Pitt, who next appears in Killing Them Softly, would play Ned Lands, a harpoonist aboard the Nautilus.
(Photo Credit: Lia Toby / WENN.com)
