Legendary Disney songwriter Alan Menken and Hamilton mastermind Lin-Manuel Miranda are heading under the sea together for a live-action Little Mermaid!
Deadline reports that Disney is teaming up with Lin-Manuel Miranda again (after working with him on The Force Awakens, Moana, and their upcoming Mary Poppins sequel) for a project that’s been inevitable since the Mouse House started increasing their live-action remake output: A live-action Little Mermaid.
“Miranda and Menken will write the music together,” according to Deadline, “and this live-action Little Mermaid will consist of ‘a mix of pre-existing songs from the 1989 Disney animated classic movie, for which Menken won two Oscars.'”
This remake seems to be developing similar to how Disney is handling their live-action Beauty and the Beast starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens: The movie will include songs from the original animated movie by Menken and the late Howard Ashman. Menken has also penned a couple new songs for next year’s release.
Deadline notes that Miranda “has a soft spot for The Little Mermaid, even naming his newborn son Sebastian, after the crab in the musical.”
“They are still working out a lot of details, including the level of Miranda’s involvement. At this point, he isn’t writing the script, but he will supervise the story and the studio will hire a writer shortly.”
We imagine Disney will consider having Miranda and Menken pen a couple of new songs for The Little Mermaid to freshen it up.
Disney’s latest live-action movie — Pete’s Dragon — just hit theaters (And we loved it!) Other live-action remakes in development include Mulan, Dumbo, and a Maleficent sequel.
In addition to Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast, Menken has penned the music for many of Disney’s animated classics including Aladdin, Pocahontas, and Hercules.