David Fincher reunites with 'Seven' writer for '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'

Given that their first collaboration debuted to critical acclaim and over $300 million in worldwide box-office, it's a wonder "Seven" writer Andrew Kevin Walker and director David Fincher haven't teamed up again before now - but better late than never, as the saying goes, with reports now revealing that Walker has come aboard to script Fincher's adaptation of Jules Verne's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" for Walt Disney.

The news was broken by Deadline.

The scribe is just the latest in a long line of writers to tackle the long-in-development Mouse House project, with Scott Z. Burns ("The Man From U.N.C.L.E."), Michael Chabon ("John Carter") and Randall Wallace ("Love and Honor") all at one point or another taking a stab at scripting duties. McG was previously attached at the helm before he and Disney decided to go their separate ways.

Given that this is a Walt Disney film, the world Walker and Fincher create of course can't run too terribly dark (though perhaps darker than Disney's Academy Award-winning 1954 version), though it'll nevertheless be interesting to see what the two can come up with - if their collaboration proves fruitful, that is.

Interestingly enough, Fincher's involvement in the project came after he initially boarded the development of another incarnation of the title headed up by producer Sam Raimi, which at the time was set up at New Line. When the Disney version with McG attached fell apart, Fincher departed the New Line project and subsequently pitched his own take on the classic tale to Disney, with Burns attached to pen the script.

As if all of that weren't enough, 20th Century Fox is also developing a version of the title with Ridley Scott producing, though that one is reportedly a futuristic take on the story.

You can read Drew's previous commentary on the "20,000 Leagues" project shuffle here.

Fincher's next film is "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", which hits theaters on December 21st.

Be sure and let us know what you think of Walker's involvement in the comments!