David Fincher Wants Channing Tatum For 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea

By Rudie Obias | Updated

This article is more than 2 years old

Tatum

David Fincher’s Disney remake of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea has been hovering in limbo for quite some time. With recent reports that Fincher’s long-time collaborator Brad Pitt is dropping out of the project, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea needs to find a new leading man, or else it risks being drydocked even longer. Fincher, however, already has his eye on a replacement for Pitt.

According to the Playlist, David Fincher is interested in actor Channing Tatum taking over the lead role of Ned Land. The only problem with wanting Tatum in the movie is that his availability is not ideal. The Playlist reports that he will not be able to do 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea until next year. In the meantime, Tatum will appear as the character Django Wise in the Wachowskis’ new sci-fi film, Jupiter Ascending.

What does this mean for 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea’s release date? Disney has still not officially greenlit the project. Australia is trying to bring the film’s production to their lovely country with tax incentives. If the movie does shoot in Australia, it’s most likely they would shoot at Village Roadshow Studios in Queensland, where the TV series Terra Nova and the upcoming The Wolverine shot for Twentieth Century Fox.

If Pitt hadn’t bailed, the production could have started as early as this summer, but now window has closed. David Fincher also has The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo sequel to consider.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea follows a team of sea mariners who investigate a string of mysterious shipwrecks. During their adventure, they encounter an advanced submarine called the Nautilus. In the original 1954 film, Kurt Douglas played master harpooner Ned Land and James Mason played the tyrannical Captain Nemo.