In January of 2009, it was announced that director McG, hot off of his work on the not-so-well-received Termination Salvation, would be taking on a new adaptation of Jules Verne‘s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea for Disney. Ten months later, the project had been killed off.

Now it looks like Disney has found their replacement, and it is quite the step up on the directorial chain. The studio is set to name David Fincher the new captain of this underwater adventure. Fincher is best known for his psychological crime thriller Se7en, as well as Fight Club, Zodiac, and his recent multi-Academy Award nominee, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

The McG project was said to have a budget of around $150 million, so Fincher will without doubt have at least that amount to play with when he gets things moving. That production was also on the fast-track by Disney, but it is currently unknown whether they will be pushing it just as quickly this time around. Fincher is notorious for his perfectionism and determination to get the perfect scene, no matter how many takes it requires he and his cast.

The original Verne Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea was published in the 1860s, early 1870s, and told the story of a mysterious creature that was attacking ships. It is eventually discovered that the creature is actually a great submarine called the Nautilus, which is run by Captain Nemo.

The script from which Fincher will work is written by Scott Z. Burns, who has previously penned The Informant! and The Bourne Ultimatum.

[Source: THR]