While we wait for the inevitable live-action “Little Mermaid” remake from Disney ― hopefully starring Lindsay Lohan ― several mermaid flicks set for release over the next couple of years will have to tide us over.
First up is an indie film led by Shirley MacLaine, Poppy Drayton (”Downton Abbey”) and William Moseley (”The Chronicles of Narnia”), which dropped a trailer this week. According to Deadline, it’s set for release this year.
Confusingly, it shares a title, “The Little Mermaid,” with the animated classic. But this version offers a twist on both the Disney fairy tale and its Hans Christian Andersen source material: A reporter (Moseley) and his little sister travel to a small Mississippi town to find the real “little mermaid,” who seems to have secured a gig in a circus act.
Extra confusingly, it’s not the only “The Little Mermaid” film in the works. Universal studios has its own version, with a “Stranger Things” director, Rebecca Thomas, at the helm. That project is evidently still nailing down stars ― Chloë Grace Moretz dropped out last year ― and has no release date set.
There’s also “The Lure,” a horror-musical adaption of the fairy tale set in Poland (and with English subtitles), already out in a limited release. And finally ― or so we think ― Channing Tatum will take on the mermaid role played by Daryl Hannah in 1984’s “Splash” for the upcoming remake planned by Disney.
Oh, you like mermaids? Hollywood is going to give you some mermaids.
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