When it's all said and done, we'll most likely wind up with only one updated version of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea arriving in theaters (most likely in 3D), but for the time being multiple studios are battling each other above the sea hoping to launch their big-budgeted, high-profile 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea before their competitors can get their act together.
First up, Disney has been trying to stage a remake of their 1954 version for some time now. McG was attached at one point – with Will Smith potentially playing the eccentric Captain Nemo – but that whole thing fell apart. Now, though, they're attempting another go at it, bringing on David Fincher (Fight Club, Benjamin Button) to direct what's being described as a 20,000 Leagues that's in the same vein as Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back.
Sounds pretty cool, right? Well, it may not end up happening because 20th Century Fox is also planning their own version of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, with Wanted's Timur Bekmambetov directing off a script by Travis Beacham (Clash of the Titans). In this version, Ridley and Tony Scott will be producing through their Scott Free Prods.
But that's not all! Apparently there's also a third 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea in development, with producer Sam Raimi working with writer Craig Titley. HitFix claims David Fincher was working with this duo on their 20,000 Leagues version, but then jumped, er, ship over to Disney for unknown reasons. It's all rather confusing, and more than likely only one of these will make it to production since the budgets will be big, and studios won't want to spend that kind of money when there's already another version being made.
But which version would you want to see? I'd like to see the Fincher/Disney version over the Fox version since the latter will probably end up being too hyper-stylized (knowing the people involved) for my taste. What about you? Which 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea do you want to watch in theaters?
