Sofia Coppola is set to direct Universal's live action film about the Little Mermaid, as confirmed by the Hollywood Reporter. This story was previously done in animation by Disney. Joe Wright, the director best known for Atonement starring Keira Knightley, had been previously attached to the project. Will Kirsten Dunst play Ariel?
The Little Mermaid is quite different from Coppola's previous films, which tend to be geared towards adults and often play with the theme of luxury and wealth. Her past films include Lost in Translation, Somewhere, Marie Antoinette and most recently, The Bling Ring. Considering her past projects, it's likely that Coppola will focus on the bleaker, darker sides of the original Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale from 1837.
In the original story, the Little Mermaid, who longs for a prince and an eternal foul, buys a potion from the Sea Witch, that gives her legs in exchange for her ability to speak. The little Mermaid, with her new legs, is able to dance like no human has danced before; however, the legs also cause her terrible pain. She meets a prince who is mesmerized by her dancing and falls in love with him. She will only obtain a soul if she finds true love's kiss and if the prince loves her and marries her. Unfortuantely, teh prince is set to marry a princess from a neighboring kingdom. After he marries her, the Little Mermaid dissolves into foam.
The possibility of a live action Little Mermaid film has been going around for a few years now. In 2011, Sex Traffic and Shame screenwriter Abi Morgan submitted a script for the project, commenting that the story was "so beautiful and exquisite and painful, so we absolutely have to have the original ending." Edward Scissorhands screenwriter Caroline Thompson is writing the script, which was previously worked on by Fifty Shades Of Grey author Kelly Marcel and Shame writer Abi Morgan.
With such fantastic people working on the writing and directing, now the question remains, who will play the Little Mermaid? There is Kirsten Dunst, who has already been in two of Coppola's movies (Marie Antoinette, Virgin Suicides) and previously played a redhead in Sam Raimi's Spiderman trilogy. Do you think Kirsten Dunst could play the Little Mermaid?
