We're almost a full year from when "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" hit theaters, and we're still no closer to figuring out what David Fincher's next feature film will be. Of course, not that he's been sitting around idle — he has spent the bulk of 2012 producing and directing "House Of Cards," the Netflix and Media Rights Capital series that will hit the streaming service next year. And while "The Girl Who Played With Fire" won't be coming anytime before 2014, with Fincher saying in August he's "trying to figure [it] out," a past collaborator could kickstart a project that's been brewing for a while.
Variety reports that Disney has placed Fincher on a three month hold as they decide the fate of his long-developing "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea." The project is certainly ambitious, with Fincher previously teasing that it would be in 3D, be 70% CG and feature motion-capture work, and the last word we heard on it was that he'd hired his "Se7en" scribe Andrew Kevin Walker last fall to write the script. Essentially, the short version of this is that it's an expensive movie and Disney, still bruising from "John Carter," and having watched "The Lone Ranger" go over budget as well, will likely be checking every angle before saying yes or no. But could a major star change their mind?
Fincher is said to be courting his "Se7en," "Fight Club" and "The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button" star Brad Pitt for the lead role of Ned Land, with an older A-list type being sought for Captain Nemo. Of course, reps for Pitt stress that he's not committed to anything right now, and like other A-list actors of his caliber, Pitt generally has many options to choose from. The only movie he's firmly attached to is James Gray's "The Gray Man," which the filmmaker told us this spring might be his next effort.
All this to say, nothing is certain just yet. But Fincher is trying to find a way to work with Pitt again, and if he's intrigued and signs on, we'll bet that Disney has no problem giving this the thumbs up.