Joe Wright is finishing up his latest film, Hanna, a sort of The Professional story about a pretty young assassin girl, but that’s not stopping him from lining up his next gig. The director is looking to make the first English language live action version of the classic fairy tale The Little Mermaid.

You know The Little Mermaid, right? Do I have to explain the story to you? The one about the mermaid who falls in love with a sailor and gives up her fishy tale so she can get a fishy-smelling human part? Instead let’s talk about the belief that sea cow sightings fueled the mythology of mermaids. Here’s a sea cow:

Imagine how long you’d have to be at sea to think that was a woman (assuming you’re not Tom Arnold. Hey-o!).

The script for The Little Mermaid is being written by Abi Morgan, who has mostly done British TV as well as the film Brick Lane. Wright’s next, Hanna, isn’t out until April of 2011, so he may have a lot of time to get started on The Little Mermaid.

via The Hollywood Reporter