David Fincher Explains Why His Remake of ‘20,000 Leagues Under the Sea’ Didn’t Happen

by

Over the past few days, David Fincher has found himself quite occupied. This year marks the 30th anniversary of his acclaimed crime thriller “Se7en”, and as a result, it’s being re-released in cinemas with a stunning 4K restoration. Yet, apart from this, the director behind films such as “Mank” and “Fight Club” is also utilizing this occasion to clarify and confirm upcoming projects. This time around, Fincher discusses his remake of the 1954 Disney live-action classic, “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea“.

In an unexpected turn of events, there were plans back in the early 2010s for director David Fincher to remake a Disney feature. Fincher had proposed the movie to Brad Pitt, envisioning him in the role that Kirk Douglas originally played – Ned Land. However, this project seemed to disappear at some point, likely due to the less-than-stellar response to Fincher’s 2011 film, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”.

The director shared his ideas about reimagining “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” with Letterboxd, and it appears that his version would not resemble Disney’s cherished classic in style. Instead, we can expect a fresh take on the 1870 novel, “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas,” penned by Jules Verne. This is what he shared about his project:

I had a strong desire to bring the story of “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea” to life due to its unique blend of disgusting yet fascinating elements, along with a wet, steampunk atmosphere. However, I ended up working on “Bad Travelling” [the Love, Death & Robots episode] from Netflix instead, which satisfied that craving for me. I was content just sticking with that project. It’s not always possible to make others share the same level of excitement about the risks you’re passionate about. At the time, Disney was in a position where they were emphasizing, “We need to identify something we know how to fully utilize from start to finish, and you’ll have to meet these requirements for us.

I told them, ‘Have you read Jules Verne? Our story is about an Indian prince challenging white imperialism. That’s our plan.’ They responded, ‘Sure, sure, we’re okay with it, as long as there’s less of that.’ Eventually, I said, ‘I can’t sugarcoat this, and I don’t want you to find out at the movie premiere what you’ve funded. It doesn’t add up because it’ll be a struggle for the next two years.’ I didn’t want to put us through that. After all, life is too short.

It’s indisputable that David Fincher’s take on the well-known Disney movie would have been intriguing. However, it’s safe to say that it wouldn’t have been suitable for family viewing. This is the same director who coined the phrase “The Feel Bad movie of Christmas” in the trailer for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Fincher also made a point to acknowledge those who link The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo to the holiday season: “There’s perhaps a bit too much adult content in it for me to fully accept it as a Christmas movie, but different strokes for different folks.

Fincher’s Down-to-Earth Approach to Pitching a Project

Despite the exceptional and distinct quality of his films, David Fincher’s rapport with Hollywood isn’t flawless. One might expect that he would have earned industry trust by now, but it seems as though bad luck persists. The sequel to his Netflix series, ‘Mindhunter’, has been cancelled, and while ‘Mank’ and ‘The Killer’ were well-received, they failed to garner awards recognition. There are rumors that his next project is a Squid Game remake for American audiences, but nothing has been definitively confirmed yet.

Fincher’s method of proposing projects might be less grandiose than we previously thought. In fact, he seems quite humble in his pursuit of gaining the backing of those who fund his movies, as he himself admitted to Letterboxd.

Films disintegrate for a purpose, and I make an effort to maintain a balanced perspective on such matters. After all, in my professional journey, it’s crucial not to covet the backing of a project more than those who hold the purse strings, as they ultimately have the power over it.

Can you imagine a meeting where Fincher pitches 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea? Neither can we.

Read More

2025-01-07 21:32