Hans Christian Anderson’s The Little Mermaid is best known in cinematical terms these days as the Disney musical featuring singing crabs and a happy-go-lucky undersea princess who wins the heart of the human prince she loves. But if Working Title and Atonement/The Soloist director Joe Wright have any say in the matter, a very different version will be headed for our screens. The production company and the director are teaming up for the first ever English-language live action take on the tale, which will follow the young mermaid’s quest to give up her life under the ocean to live with the human she falls for. Though chances are it could harken back to the darker themes of Anderson’s original 1837 plot, we’re not sure it’ll delve too far, since Wright’s take will be inspired by a children’s puppet theatre production staged by the Little Angel Company in London. Abi Morgan, who last wrote the script for Brick Lane, has been tasked with turning the story into a screenplay. Wright, meanwhile, is finishing up work on assassin drama Hanna, with Saoirse Ronan, Eric Bana and Cate Blanchett. Wonder if Ronan might be among the actresses considered to play the mermaid in the new movie? | 
