‘Splash’ Remake With Channing Tatum Is Happening Soon, Says Jillian Bell
Channing Tatum may have made quite a splash with the announcement that he would lead a remake of the iconic 1984 comedy classic, but so far the news has created more of a ripple effect than a tsunami. The news of the remake came hot on the heels of his 2015 dance comedy “Magic Mike XXL,” which proved audiences can’t get enough of objectifying the dancer-turned-actor. Tatum’s “22 Jump Street” co-star Jillian Bell is also attached to the gender-swapped reboot, and in a visit to the IndieWire Studio presented by Dropbox, she said the project is still chugging along.
“It’s being written currently, so we hope we get to make it within the next couple years,” Bell said, pausing briefly over her words. “I think it’s happening. I’m really excited about it.”
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With Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s Imagine Entertainment behind the reboot, there’s no question whether the movie can get funded, but rather if Howard and Grazer decide to go ahead with it. Though unclear, the fact that Bell said it is being written currently suggests some back and forth between producers and writer Maria Lewis-Ryan (“6 Balloons”), a fairly untested newcomer.
The original “Splash” starred Tom Hanks and Darryl Hanna as a man and a mermaid, respectively, who fall in love after being reunited years after she saved his life as a boy. The romantic comedy was the first major hit for Howard and Grazer, a success that eventually led to the creation of Imagine.
Bell is currently at the Sundance Film Festival promoting her new movie “Brittany Runs a Marathon,” in which she stars as a New York woman getting her life together block by block. The film also features comedy favorites Michaela Watkins, Utkarsh Ambudkar, and Lil Rel Howery.
Check out the clip of Bell talking “Splash” below.
