According to Deadline Andrew Kevin Walker has been brought on-board to rewrite the script for Disney’s 20,000 League Under the Sea.

The move will re-team Walker with director David Fincher who both worked on Se7en back in 1995. Walker also wrote the scripts for Sleepy Hollow and The Wolfman.

Fincher’s 20,000 League Under the Sea was first announced last year with The Bourne Ultimatum writer Scott Z. Burns in charge of the script. According to Deadline “Disney has been trying to find a compelling way to bring back the Jules Verne story of Captain Nemo as he creates his warship Nautilus”, so input from other writers is required.

A big tentpole movie such as 20,000 League Under the Sea will be a change for Fincher, who usually sticks to dramas such as Zodiac, The Social Network and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Earlier this year the director said the movie will probably be 70% CGI, and he’ll be using motion capture technology. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button contained a fair amount of CGI, but it sounds like 20,000 League will be his most technology-reliant yet.

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Just yesterday we were hearing that Fight Club director David Fincher is to direct a remake of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea for Disney, and now we have word that another 20,000 Leagues movie is in the works. This seems to be another case of studios setting up rival projects which we have seen a lot of over the years. The problem for Disney is that the 20th Century Fox version is further along in production.

From HeatVision:

Now Heat Vision has learned that Fox is prepping its own version of the classic Jules Verne tale with an equally pedigreed filmmaking team. Producers Ridley and Tony Scott and their Scott Free Prods. are developing a “Leagues” project for the studio with a script by “Clash of the Titans” co-writer Travis Beacham. And they’ve been talking with director Timur Bekmambetov (“Wanted”) about helming the big-budget adaptation, though there’s no deal for Timur yet.

“20,000 Leagues” is in the public domain, so anybody can adapt it. Fox’s project began life quietly after the writers strike. Beacham is said to have approached the Scotts with his take on the literary classic, which Fox then bought. Bekmambetov, notoriously picky about his projects, is interested in directing “Leagues” and has had talks about the project, which insiders say is set in the future (although it follows the novel’s structure). The thinking is that a sci-fi take on the material might be more accessible than a period one.

So which one will surface first? It’s unlikely that whichever project ends up going into production last will continue as it will be seen as the ‘copycat’ and will probably fail at the box office.

Which version do you want to see? David Fincher’s or Timur Bekmambetov’s?

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In November Disney halted production on their remake of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea which was to be directed by Terminator Salvation director McG. The film was said to be an origin story for the central character, Captain Nemo, as he builds his warship, the Nautilus.

There hasn’t been any signs of life from the project in months and it was looking likely that it was being sent back to the watery depths of development hell, however the man who made Brad Pitt wrinkly in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button may have caused the Nautilus to resurface.

From HeatVision:

Months after deep-sixing a McG-helmed version of “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” Disney is in negotiations with David Fincher to direct, and hot “Bourne Ultimatum” scribe Scott Z. Burns to write, a new take on the classic Jules Verne story.

The project came together after Fincher approached Disney’s new production head Sean Bailey a few weeks into his job this winter. The Oscar-nominated helmer wanted to tackle a four-quadrant tentpole movie, somewhat of a departure from the dark, R-rated dramas such as “Fight Club” and “Zodiac” (or even “Curious Case of Benjamin Button”) that he’s done in the past.

The project was being developed under the radar as Bailey settled into his position under new studio topper Rich Ross, then gained steam in the past few days with Fincher and Burns entering talks for deals.

Nothing more is known at the moment, however HeatVision say it is described as being in the vein of Star Wars or The Empire Strikes Back and will aim to be visually dazzling.

What do you think about the man behind Fight Club and Button taking on 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea?

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Things don’t seem to be working out for McG recently. Before the release of Terminator Salvation he began development on Terminator 5, however he intended to film Captain Nemo: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea for Disney before that. Cut to now and the Terminator rights are being auctioned off, preventing any work on the next Terminator film, and now according to Variety Disney have halted Nemo.

Disney has put “Captain Nemo: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” in dry dock.

The picture, tentatively scheduled to begin production in February, has been halted indefinitely, and McG is no longer steering the ship. The studio confirmed that it won’t proceed with the film for now, and reps for the director confirmed he has withdrawn. While names like Will Smith were rumored as possible stars, no cast was ever set. The project had been on a fast track under the Dick Cook regime. Studio sez event pics like “20,000 Leagues,” “John Carter of Mars” and “Tron” are still priority under new chief Rich Ross.

McG will now focus on a drama called Dead Spy Running for Warner Bros.

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Terminator Salvation director McG (although until the film is released and enjoyed he will simply be known as the ‘Charlie’s Angels guy’) has decided to accept the $8 million pay check and will direct 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Captain Nemo. As Disney are behind the film it will be family orientated, and it is apparently being fast tracked so filming can start this year.

From Variety:

Scripted by Bill Marsilli, the film is an origin story of Nemo as he creates his warship, the Nautilus. The characters come from the Jules Verne novel.

The 1954 original “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” was the first live-action film made by Walt Disney, who famously bet his studio on a movie best remembered for the giant squid scene. It became the second-highest grossing film that year and won three Oscars. The film has also been the basis for various rides at the Disney theme park over the years.

McG recently announced that he would be working on Terminator 5 which Halcyon hopes to have ready for release in Summer 2011, which means that the film would have to go into production by April 2010. This should give McG more than enough time to make Nemo in between (if all goes according to plan).

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