Deadline is reporting that Netflix is looking to pair up Chinatown screenwriter Robert Towne with David Fincher (Mindhunter) to develop a pilot script for a prequel to the classic 1974 film starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway.
According to the site, the as-yet-untitled Chinatown prequel would focus on a younger version of Nicholson’s private investigator Jake Gittes, and follow him “as he plies his business in a town where the wealthy and corruption involves areas like land, oil and gangs.”
Netflix is hoping that Fincher – whose TV output includes House of Cards and Mindhunter – may be enticed to direct the pilot, but at present the deal is just for Fincher and Towne to write the script, and executive produce with Josh Donen.
Chinatown was directed by Roman Polanski from Towne’s Oscar-winning script (one that is frequently cited as one of the finest screenplays of all time), and Nicholson subsequently reprised the role of Gittes for 1990’s The Two Jakes, which was again penned by Towne.
