Uh oh – it looks like David Fincher’s 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea remake is dead in the water for now according to Disney. The film’s production, which was supposed to start shooting in Sydney, Australia next month after a very hefty offer from the Government down under, has been pushed all the way back to 2014 – much to the dismay of an extremely eager Australia.
With Captain David Fincher (The Social Network/Fight Club) reuniting with his first-mate scribe Andrew Kevin Walker (Se7en) to take a crack at Disney’s epic underwater adventure, it’s a shame that casting troubles are to blame for the delay in production. Although there’s been talk hinting Channing Tatum could take the lead as Ned Land, there was also a rumor Fincher wanted Brad Pitt for the exact same role. While Tatum still hasn’t openly declined playing Land, the latter has, and sources are citing Pitt’s passing on the part as a starting point for ongoing casting troubles that are delaying yet another film adaptation of Jules Verne’s iconic story.
While this is sad news indeed, as any cinema fan should be excited just to see what Fincher could do with an updated 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea film, can we really be that surprised? Besides the fact that Ned Land hasn’t been cast yet – has anyone been? You can search all you want, but you won’t find a lick of casting info, not even for equally important characters like good ol’ Captain Nemo. Nearing production without one or two characters is one thing, but nearing production without a core cast, or ANY cast for that matter, proves to be a daunting task.
Not everything is about Hollywood though, as poor Australia is also suffering from the setback. There’s a reason the Australian Government was willing to pay $21.6 million to guarantee Fincher’s film be shot all over their illustrious landscape, as it’s reported production would have created about 2,000 jobs and helped the 1,000 local business that would have been supplying goods and services to the shoot.
While Fincher’s ship isn’t completely sunk, it looks like Jules Verne fans will have to wait another year for any updates on their much anticipated 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea remake, but hell, maybe by then Brad Pitt will have changed his mind! We’ll keep you updated when we hear more, we just don’t recommend you hold your breath…
