Hollywood’s fascination with public domain fairy tales is not slowing down. Universal is currently working on a live-action version of Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid and Sofia Coppola has just been tapped to direct.
The project is a Universal and Working Title co-production with Working Title’s Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner producing, notes Deadline. Caroline Thompson (Edward Scissorhands) is currently working on a new draft of the script. Kelly Marcel (Fifty Shades of Grey) and Abi Morgan (Shame) also worked on the script.
Joe Wright was once attached to direct, but he has gone on to other projects. He’s currently working on Warner Bros.’ Pan, a new version of J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan.
This will be a dramatically different type of film for Coppola, who has more recently taken on modern projects like The Bling Ring and Somewhere. She’s best known for helming Lost in Translation and also made Marie Antoinette.
Disney’s version of The Little Mermaid was a major success and reinvigorated that studio in 1989. This is the second Disney animated classic being remade by another studio. Warner Bros. is working on a live action Jungle Book.
image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
