So let's do a bit of recap: As you might remember, the studio put David Fincher on three-month hold last October, as they set about making a decision about the Jules Verne adaptation "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea." Certainly, there's been no word on the project since then, and while Fincher's name was bandied about for another, much higher profile Disney tentpole — "Star Wars: Episode 7" — it looks like the director potentially has something else in mind.
Fincher is in talks to direct "Gone Girl" with Reese Witherspoon attached to produce. The actress picked up the rights to the novel by Gillian Flynn in a massive deal over the summer, and this looks like familiar territory for the director. The thriller tells the tale of a woman who disappears on her fifth wedding anniversary, with all the evidence pointing to her husband. Here's the synopsis from Amazon:
Marriage can be a real killer.
On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?
As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?
To be clear, there is no offer on the table yet, and Variety adds that 'Leagues' is still within the realm of possibility, though Fincher's desire to cast Brad Pitt, apparently fell through and didn't work out. "Gone Girl" is set up over at Fox, where Fincher made early films "Alien 3" and "Fight Club," but he hasn't returned there since. It sounds like the kind of material he could slam dunk, albeit perhaps more character- than concept-based than his past thrillers. So, we'll see.
Finally, in case you forgot, "The Girl Who Played With Fire," is still seemingly somewhere on Fincher's plate, but Sony has said it won't be arriving until 2014 at the earliest. And given Daniel Craig's Bond schedule, we'd reckon it'll be longer than that.