Walt Disney Studios reveals that it is working on a remake of The Little Mermaid. The studio confirmed earlier reports that it was considering making a live-action version of the classic 1989 animated film.
In addition to confirming the existence of the production, Deadline reports that Disney has also tapped Lin-Manuel Miranda to work with Alan Menken, the composer for the original Little Mermaid, on the remake’s score:
Disney’s animated The Little Mermaid made over $211 million at the box office and became a bestseller on home video, popularizing songs like “Under The Sea” and “Part of Your World.” Based on Hans Christian Andersen’s Danish fairy tale, it tells the story of a 16-year-old mermaid princess named Ariel who longs to be human.
Universal Pictures and Working Title have also been in development on their own Little Mermaid project with Chloe Grace Moretz set to star and Rebecca Thomas directing from a screenplay by Richard Curtis.
Miranda, who will also produce the live action Little Mermaid alongside Marc Platt, has a number of upcoming projects with Disney. He’s providing songs for this November’s animated adventure Moana (from original Little Mermaid directors John Musker and Ron Clements) and he’s part of the cast of the upcoming Mary Poppins Returns. Set to star Emily Blunt in the title role, the film will soon begin production in England for a December 25, 2018 release.
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