Sofia Coppola Quits Universal's Live Action "Little Mermaid"

I was so disappointed to hear this. I really thought there was a great chance of a unique and relevant modern retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's Little Mermaid on the way (modern, at least with regard to issues and sensibility, if not setting, that is).

The report is that she exited due to "creative differences" which is such a vague term it could be almost anything, however, rumor has it, that things came to a head over casting the lead. With trans-model Andreja Pejic (formerly known as Andrej Pejic) already cast as one of the Mermaid's sisters, the film's direction, which already intended to follow Andersen's original story, promised to be both interesting and very "un-Disney". There has been no report of any change in Pejic's involvement (that is, she is still attached to the project), so things remain promising on this front.

The script is finished and remains intact, care of Caroline Thompson, (who penned Edward Scissorhands and The Corpse Bride among others), and reports are that the producers remain enthusiastic about Mermaid and keen to see this project come to the screen. With Coppola officially announcing her departure at the beginning of June, though, it's already been a few weeks and the film (at this writing) remains director-less.

From what I can glean in reports here and there, filming was supposed to start toward the end of 2015 so hopefully we'll hear more news on what's happening with the film soon.

By the way, I found this painting below available in various places as a print or wallpaper. It's occasionally titled Saving the Little Mermaid but, for some reason, doesn't credit the artist anywhere I could find (if you find out, please let me know and I'll update). I thought some mer-folk here might like it though, and it likely fits with the tone of the Universal movie as it currently stands...