Sofia Coppola Quits The Little Mermaid

The director decided to leave the project over creative differences

Sofia Coppola is no longer directing Universal’s live-action version of “The Little Mermaid” due to creative differences.

Deadline first broke the news, reporting that Coppola left The Little Mermaid but Universal Studio and producers Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner are still keen to move forward with the project, although, no one else has been assigned to direct the film yet. The script of the film is written by Caroline Thompson while Kelly Marcel, Fifty Shades of Grey screenwriter and Abi Morgan have also worked on the draft earlier. 

According to Variety, Sofia Coppola and Universal mainly clashed over the casting as they had not been able to finilize even after several months that who is going to play the lead role of Ariel. Coppola was reportedly willing to sign Maya Thurman Hawke, the daughter of Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke for the role but the studio executives seemed reluctant to approve it. 

The Little Mermaid is a classic fairytale written by Danish author Hans Christian Anderson. The story revolves around a mermaid who gives up her life in the sea after she falls in love of a human prince. The tale, which was originally published in 1937, has been adapted many times before but Disney’s 1989 is perhaps the best known version of the classic story.

If Coppola remains the part of the film, it’s going to be her first live-action as a director. She has directed five films so far with the last one “The Bling Ring” released in 2013. She is currently working on Netflix Christmas special “A Very Murray Christmas”, starring Bill Murray. Alongside Murray, there will be a number of cameo appearances which includes George Clooney, Miley Cyrus, Chris Rock, Rashida Jones and many more – all playing themselves. The 44-year old Coppola has also won an Oscar award for Best Original Screenplay in 2003.