Nearly 30 years after Disney’s timeless animated classicThe Little Mermaidhit theaters, the studio announced last year that they are putting together a new live-action adaptation withHamiltoncreatorLin-Manuel Miranda. Universal was also readying their own live-action adaptation withChloe Moretzset to star, before she dropped out. While it remains to be seen what will happen with those projects, there is a new live-actionLittle Mermaidmovie coming out later this year, and the first trailer has been released today.
ThisLittle Mermaid moviecomes from Conglomerate Media and Kingsway Productions, with the trailer debuting onYouTube. The project doesn’t have a release date set at this time, but it is expected to debut later this year, possibly this summer, although it remains to be seen when a release date will be announced. This story takes a much different approach to the originalHans Christian Andersonfairy tale.
This story centers on a young reporter (William Moseley) and his young sister (Loreto Peralta) who travel to a small town in Mississippi to find the young girl that has been rumored to be the real Little Mermaid (Poppy Drayton). They discover that the mermaids themselves have their own fairy tale, which speaks of a girl who was born on land, but who has the heart of a mermaid, which very well may be this reporter’s young sister. Together, these siblings try to saveThe Little Mermaidfrom the nefarious carnival leader who has captured part of the mermaid’s soul. It’s certainly possible that this unique adaptation could find an audience, but that all depends on when it’s released.
The cast also includesShirley MacLaine,Gina Gershon,William Forsythe,Diahann Carroll,Jared Sandler,Jo Marie Payton,Shanna Collins,Lexy Kolker,Tom Nowicki,Armando Gutierrez,Hunter GomezandClaire Crosby.Chris BouchardandBlake Harriswrote the scrrenplay, based on the original 1837 fairy tale byHans Christian Anderson. Swen Group will handle international distribution, withArmando GutierrezandRobert Molloyproducing. Now that this trailer has been released, it’s possible that the release date may be announced any day now.
While this certainly is a unique take on this belovedfairy tale, it could find an audience in theaters. It is already a competitive summer movie season as it stands right now. Still, with a story fans are already well aware of with an impressive and diverse cast, it’s certainly possible that this could find a niche at the summer box office. While we wait for more details onThe Little Mermaid, take a look at the first trailer below.
