10 More Movies We Desperately Wanted To Happen (But Never Will)

Every now and again, Hollywood suddenly gets obsessed with one specific fairytale or well-known family story.

Look no further than the sudden influx of Jungle Book adaptations a few years ago, with both Disney and Netflix getting in on the Shere Khan and Mowgli action in 2016 and 2018, respectively.

The same thing appeared to be going down when it came to the much-loved Little Mermaid tale, too, with both Universal and Disney looking to bring this underwater adventure to life in the mid-2010s.

And while the The House of Mouse version that eventually dived into theatres this year stuck largely to the Disney formula of the classic animated version, the Sofia Coppola-directed Universal offering was said to have been based on the original, much darker-than-Disney fairytale.

In the end, though, Coppola dropped out of the project due to creative differences, with the Lost in Translation director stating to Variety that "we couldn’t agree on some elements".

Seeing Coppola explore a darker version of the famed tale, and even shoot the project underwater as she originally planned (via Dazed), would have definitely made for a fresh Little Mermaid experience.

But the director has since admitted to just not being the right fit for the big-budget project, and it now doesn't look like Universal's under the sea alternative will be making a splash any time soon.