Joe Wright was previously attached to direct a live action adaptation of The Little Mermaid, but he’s currently putting together Pan for Warner Bros. and it would seem only one live action at a time is appropriate. Enter Sofia Coppola who will apparently step away from her tradition of working from her own screenplay to bring to life the Hans Christian Anderson tale for Universal Pictures.
Abi Morgan (Shame, Suffragate) wrote the first draft of the screenplay, Kelly Marcel (Fifty Shades of Grey) stepped in next and now Caroline Thompson (Edward Scissorhands) will take a stab at it.
While this is a departure for Coppola, it seems this might be a perfect fit for her first, bigger budget studio picture.
As far as what direction the narrative will take, I’m sure we can expect something darker than Disney’s animated portrayal of the mermaid who offers her beautiful voice for a chance to win a human prince’s love, but just how far Coppola will take things is sure to be one of the more interesting aspects of the adaptation. [Deadline]
