Joe Wright Developing Live Action Little Mermaid

Joe Wright is a talented director who’s known for picking his projects carefully. He previously directed such acclaimed films as Pride and Prejudice and Atonement and now he wants to tackle — The Little Mermaid. According to THR, Wright is developing a live action version of the Hans Christian Andersen fairytale alongside Working Title Films.

The script for the film has been written by Abi Morgan and “tells the classic tale of a young mermaid who gives up her life in the sea to love a human prince.” The story was first published by Andersen in 1837 and has been adapted multiple times over for film and television. One of the most famous versions is the 1989 Disney animated film (which is one of my favorite movies of all time!).

Wright has the talent to pull off any script that’s thrown his way but when was the last time we saw live action mermaids used effectively onscreen? Splash? That was over 25 years ago! Also, if we have to sit through Keira Knightley as the title character we’re going to have a serious problem.

What do you think of Wright taking on The Little Mermaid? Do you think a good live action version is possible?