Richard Curtis is in talks to write the script based on the the Hans Christian Andersen fairytale centring on a mermaid who gives up her life in the sea after she falls in love with a prince, said The Hollywood Reporter.
Sofia Coppola exited the project over creative differences, and a new director has not yet signed on.
Working Title's Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner are producing while Liza Chasin and Amelia Granger will executive produce.
Curtis wrote and directed "About Time" and "Love Actually", and previously wrote "War Horse" and "Bridget Jones's Diary", among others.