20,000 Nemos Under the Sea, David Fincher...!

One of the many projects director David Fincher has been considering is a remake of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea - and this week it came a lot closer to becoming his next film. Disney has a 3-month hold on Fincher (wonder what that cost?) to see if he can assemble a project that makes them confident enough to fund and green-light the film. Fincher’s first public salvo is the idea of frequent collaborator Brad Pitt as harpooner Ned Land, with an older A-list actor playing anti-hero Captain Nemo. Now 20,000 Leagues is my favorite film of all time. It had a colossal influence on me growing up, being the first live action drama I ever saw in a theater - no, not during its original release - I'm not THAT old... I’d normally be quick to pooh-pooh this kind of remake, but with Fincher involved, I can’t help but feel excited and curious. So if you were able to get Pitt to play the Kirk Douglas role…my immediate question was, who do you cast as James Mason?! 

That’s my question for today. You need someone capable of being imperious and brilliant – a visionary inventor whose belief in the future has been twisted by personal tragedy, having been warped into a cold-blooded vigilante, a haunted man full of grief and anger. He needs to be older, but capable of some action - of grabbing a harpoon and charging onto the deck to face the mother of all nightmares, face-to-face. I’ve reviewed my list of suspects, and here they are - along with my doubts and caveats - forgive me, gentlemen:

WAVE 1:

Anthony Hopkins - (possibly too old now, a somewhat tarnished rep)

Daniel Day-Lewis - (too highbrow for the role, though he’d be brilliant)

Jeremy Irons - (too old now? Possibly seems too detached)

Ian McKellen - (possibly too old now…?)

Geoffrey Rush - (intriguing choice, but maybe not dark enough)

Michael Fassbender - (might be too young)

No, not quite there - which lead me to...

WAVE 2: - (in increasing order of preference)

Bryan Cranston - (so has the acting chops – can we disassociate him from WW?)

Liam Neeson - (he’s the Taken persona now – too much an Irish Harrison Ford?)

Daniel Craig (can he convey the inventor – the visionary? Too action-oriented? He was great as Blomkvist for Fincher)

Hugh Jackman (phenomenal at anger and intelligence – but too heroic?)

Christian Bale (can do seemingly anything. A great choice to play the haunted genius)

…which finally led me to my #1 choice, with just the right balance of hope and anger...

Kenneth Branagh

I can see Branagh very clearly – older, bearded, tortured, judgmental – easy to believe as the once-starry-eyed inventor, full of hope for the future – turned cold avenger after the loss of his family, raging at fate and humanity.

And please - no Wild Wild West cracks. This is Wallander we're talking about here! He's aged, he's seasoned and he brings heft and humanity that would simply be letter perfect for Nemo. So, Mr. Fincher, if you're listening, one die-hard fan's plea to seal the deal and give Ned Land a worthy adversary.

What do you think, readers? I would love to hear!