Sofia Coppola reveals why she dropped out of Universal’s The Little Mermaid

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Last year Sofia Coppola signed on to direct Universal's live-action adaptation of THE LITTLE MERMAID, however, the following summer she departed the project due to "creative differences." I'd love if we could come up with a new term for that. The Wrap caught up with Sofia Coppola for an interview about A VERY MURRAY CHRISTMAS and the director elaborated a little on why she felt that she had to drop out of THE LITTLE MERMAID.

We didn’t agree creatively about how to do it, so I didn’t want to continue, as we were getting closer, it just wasn’t the right fit for what they needed for that project and the way I work. I decided to do something in a smaller scale, the way I like to work.

Several months after Coppola's departure, Chloe Grace Moretz signed on to star in the film and it was said that her casting was one of the reasons which prompted Sofia Coppola's exit. Universal was pushing for an established star, such as Chloe Grace Moretz, but Sofia Coppola was more interested in searching for a relative unknown actress for the lead. At the moment, THE LITTLE MERMAID is still without a director but as Universal is still moving forward with the project, I'd imagine that one will be announced before too long.

A VERY MURRAY CHRISTMAS, which Sofia Coppola directed, will be released on Netflix on December 4, 2015.