[1][2] In April 1990, the Los Angeles Times reported that Fincher was set to make his feature debut with a film based on the stage play Love Field, about the man who shot Lee Harvey Oswald, later titled Ruby.
[5] He also apparently wanted to cast Charles Dance as John Steed, however, Ralph Fiennes would ultimately end up playing the part in the eventual film, directed by Jeremiah S.
[8] In 1995, Fincher was in negotiations with TriStar Pictures to direct The Sky Is Falling from a spec script written by Howard Roth and Eric Warren Singer about two clerics on an archaeological dig who discover proof of God.
[12] In 1997, while waiting for Brad Pitt's commitment to Fight Club, Fincher entered negotiations to direct The Night Watchman from a screenplay by James Ellroy for New Regency and Warner Bros.[13] The film was later made as Street Kings in 2005.
After shooting was completed on Fight Club, Brad Pitt passed the script of The Mexican to Fincher, who wanted to direct the film but was too busy at the time to commit.
Michael London would produce and Greg Pruss, who previously worked with Fincher on Alien 3 as a conceptual artist, was in charge of adapting the story.
[21] Fincher, along with Art Linson, purchased the script written by David Ayer in April 2000, a coming-of-age story set on a nuclear submarine during the Cold War.
[23] In May 2000, Fincher was reportedly attached to direct the action film Pathfinder, written by John Patrick Shanley, about a CIA agent who tries to stop his former cellmate from blowing up stolen plutonium.
[24] Fincher entered discussions to direct the film in August 2000 about Col. Wendell Fertig, a soldier serving in the Philippines during World War II.
[25] Fincher reiterated his intent to direct in January 2009, revealing Robert Towne had been brought in to rewrite the screenplay, and Brad Pitt was wanted to portray Fretig.
[26] In November 2000, Fincher was set to direct an adaptation of Anthony Bourdain's memoir Kitchen Confidential, which Art Linson would produce, and Brad Pitt reportedly interested to star as well as Benicio del Toro.
[29] In March 2001, Fincher acquired the rights to Katie Arnoldi's novel that took place in the bodybuilding world, with Art Linson producing and Fight Club novelist Chuck Palahniuk writing the screenplay.
[1] In August 2001, Fincher was announced as directing an adaptation of Frank Miller's three issue comic book series that would see Nicolas Cage star in the lead role.
Fincher was hired to replace musician Fred Durst on the skateboarding biopic in January 2003, but exited over budget and philosophical differences with Sony Pictures.
[2] Prior to the 2006 film version directed by Brian De Palma, Fincher was going to adapt James Ellroy's novel into a 5-part HBO miniseries budgeted at $80 million that would star Tom Cruise.
Fincher was announced in 2006 to direct the adaptation of the Brian Michael Bendis and Marc Andreyko graphic of the same name about Eliot Ness and his investigation of the Cleveland Torso Murderer.
[56] A cast of Matt Damon, Rachel McAdams, Casey Affleck and Gary Oldman was rumored to be attached prior to Paramount Pictures allowing the rights to the comic lapse in January 2009.
[60] In January 2008, Fincher stated that for the tenth anniversary of his film Fight Club, he wanted to stage Chuck Palahnuik's story as a musical on Broadway,[7] though this idea never ended up coming to fruition.
[71] On December 8, 2008, screenwriter Eric Roth reported that Fincher expressed interest in directing his screenplay adaptation of Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City, set in the World Columbian Exposition in 1893.
[74] Following the 2009 publication of Dave Cullen's book Columbine, which was eventually adapted into a play in 2014, Fincher considered making it into a film, however, the idea was dropped due to its sensitive nature.
[77] Fincher was the first involved to direct Andrew Kevin Walker's comedy script Nerdland, which they had initially planned to do as a live action film, financed independently.
[88] Fincher confirmed his involvement later that year, stating Eric Roth was working on the screenplay and that he wasn't looking to make it in a typical sword-and-sandal style.
[94] As early as 2010, a Queen biopic had been in active development with Sacha Baron Cohen set to portray lead singer Freddie Mercury, and Peter Morgan writing the script.
[98] By 2013, Cohen had officially exited the biopic over creative differences with one of the members,[96] and Rami Malek would instead go on to play Mercury in the 2018 film, Bohemian Rhapsody.
[99] It starred Charlie Rowe, Sam Page, Jason Flemyng, Kerry Condon, Elizabeth Lail, Corbin Bernsen and Paz Vega[100] and was set in 1983, following a college dropout who moves to Hollywood with dreams of making a sci-fi epic, but ends up working on music videos.
[99] Wilkes described it as “a half-hour show in the vein of something like Entourage or Veep.”[2] Fincher became interested in making an American remake of the British television series Utopia in July 2013.
[104][105] The series would have starred Rooney Mara, Colm Feore, Eric McCormack, Dallas Roberts, Jason Ritter, Brandon Scott, and Agyness Deyn.
[110] In June 2014, it was reported that Fincher was interested in directing Eric Warren Singer's screenplay adaptation of Jason Matthews' espionage novel, Red Sparrow over at Fox, and wanted to reteam with actress Rooney Mara for the lead role.
Its premise follows an elderly rancher who becomes the victim of financial fraud after winning a million-dollar sweepstakes and turns to robbing banks and hunting down the thieves while being pursued by his son, the sheriff.
[125] Also in September 2024, it was additionally reported that Fincher was actively working on three other projects for Netflix including Squid Game: America, the Chinatown prequel series and an as-yet revealed crime thriller film.