Richard Curtis has made a name for himself as the undisputed king of romantic comedy.

His filmography includes Four Weddings And A Funeral, Love Actually, About Time and Notting Hill, not to mention adapting both Bridget Jones' films as well. As we reported a while ago, Chloe Grace Moretz is set to star in the live-action version of Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid, which will see her in the role of Ariel.

It's now been confirmed that Richard Curtis will be writing the screenplay, however he won't be sitting on the director's chair. It's understood that indie director Rebecca Thomas is being lined up for the role, having met with both Moretz and Universal in recent days.

The film, however, is still a long way off from hitting our screens and it remains to be seen if it even happens. Sofia Coppola, she of Lost In Translation fame and Somewhere infamy, was set to direct here but opted for... well, nobody knows. Not doing it, we guess. Universal are keen to cash in on any fairytale property that's not under Disney's umbrella. What with the huge success of both Cinderella and Maleficent for the House of Mouse, Universal are now pushing forward with this and a few other rumoured titles as well.

It says a lot that they're specifically aiming for a female director here; even if it's a case of the director only doing one or two films beforehand.

What do you think? Are you interested in seeing a live-action Little Mermaid? Let us know in the comments!

 

Via TheWrap.com