Universal casts Chloe Moretz as 'Little Mermaid' lead

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 6 (UPI) -- Universal has named actress Chloe Moretz as the star of its live action retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid.

The fairytale flick is still in its early stages with a still unplanned release date and ongoing search for a screenwriter, Variety reported Friday. Under its working title, The Little Mermaid is produced by Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner.

Earlier this year, Lost in Translation director Sofia Coppola left the new project citing creative differences with Universal. The Wrap reports Coppola desired to cast a generally unknown actress for the starring role, while Universal insisted on a more established star.

Love, Actually writer Richard Curtis is reportedly in negotiations to pen the script, which may or may not strictly follow Andersen's classic tale.