Disney’s Newest Mermaid Is Channing Tatum, Who Will Star in ‘Splash’ Remake
In 1984, a rom-com called “Splash” launched the careers of Daryl Hannah and Tom Hanks, largely thanks to its slightly absurdist plot: An unhappy New Yorker, who was saved by a mermaid as a kid, meets said mermaid as an adult and—you guessed it—wants to live happily ever after. Only problem, Hanks’ character has to decide if we wants to morph into a merman to do it, or give it up and resume life in New York alone. Plausible!
Now, the Hollywood Reporter has scoop that Disney is remaking the movie with none other than OG beefcake Channing Tatum not as the sad man, but as—wait for it—the merman.
Jillian Bell, who starred alongside Tatum in “21 Jump Street,” will play Hanks’ part, and the script will be written by Marja-Lewis Ryan of HBO pilot Unsupervised, Netflix movie 6 Balloons, and 2014’s Lean In about Sheryl Sandberg.
This year, we had the good fortune seeing a few interesting script-flips that clearly represent comedy’s present female-focused landscape, most memorably Sexiest Man Alive Chris Hemsworth, who was cast as the receptionist in Paul Feig’s all-female “Ghostbusters” reboot.
No word yet on when the new “Splash” starts production, but you can bet Tatum’s abs will be on display more than Hannah’s were in the original. Ah, progress.
