Channing Tatum to play the mermaid in Disney's Splash remake as gender swapping trend continues
It might sound fishy, but this is not a hoax
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Your support makes all the difference.2016 is the year of the Hollywood gender swap. First, Paul Feig rebooted the classic Ghostbusters movie with an all-female cast of his favourite “funny women” and now, Channing Tatum has signed up for the lead role in Disney’s Splash remake. He will be playing the mermaid.
The 21 Jump Street star will be jumping into Daryl Hannah’s, erm, tail, to star alongside Jillian Bell in a fresh take on the 1984 romcom.
Ron Howard’s sleeper hit told the story of a beautiful mermaid who saves a young boy from drowning, only to return to find him 20 years later. They fall in love and he is faced with the tough choice of continuing his life on land or living under the sea with her. Before he can choose, however, the couple are interrupted by the relentless interventions of an eccentric scientist determined to prove that mermaids exist.
Marja-Lewis Ryan is writing the new script, with Deadline reporting that the gender reversal idea came from Bell, who worked with Tatum on 22 Jump Street and will here take the role of the love interest originally played by Tom Hanks. Ryan’s script is expected to remain true to the original, which earned a Best Original Screenplay Oscar nomination.
Splash producer Brian Grazer revealed that a remake was on the way in June during an interview with CNBC. “I’m actually going to do Splash today and I can’t say,” he said when asked who he had cast in Hanks’ role. “There’s a movie star going to be involved and I haven’t announced it. We’re going to do a version of [his original, Wet, told through the mermaid’s perspective] but I can’t tell you the twist.”
Movieweb was quick to note that Grazer’s company Imagine Entertainment acquired a script entitled Merman back in 2009. Written by Jennifer Abu Hollander and Jeff Moskowitz, it followed a merman who surfaces on land in order to track down his mermaid fiancee who has fallen for a human.
Elsewhere, Tatum is on board to reprise the role of Jenko for a Men in Black/Jump Street satire currently known only as MIB 23. Flight of the Conchords creator James Bobin has got the job as director but Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are sadly not expected to join in with what is sure to be a ridiculous parody of the recent trend for crossover, team-up and versus blockbusters. He will also appear in Kingsman: The Golden Circle as a US spy, with recent first look photos showing him looking suave in a bowler hat and specs.
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