Despite director Sofia Coppola having recently dropped out, Universal and Working Title’s live-action remake of Hans Christian Andersen’s classic fairy tale The Little Mermaid seems to be pushing ahead regardless, with Variety confirming that Kick-Ass and Let Me In star Chloe Moretz has been cast in the lead role.
It’s another big role for Moretz, whose star has been on the rise in recent years, and with Cinderella having been released this year and a live-action outing for Beauty And The Beast on the way, the trend for adapting Disney animated classics seems to show no sign of ending.
Moreover, it gives a hint at the kind of tone they might be going for with this film. Like much of his stories, Andersen’s original telling of The Little Mermaid had some surprisingly dark moments – much of which were exorcised by Disney. With Richard Curtis also on script-writing duties, we can’t see this going too dark.
While the film looks for a new director, Working Title’s Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner will produce, with Liza Chasin and Amelia Granger (who both worked on the likes of Les Miserables and Atonement) attached as executive producers.
A release date for The Little Mermaid is yet to be announced. For more news on the biggest movies, pick up the latest issue of SciFiNow.
