Long before he became America’s Dad, and years prior to him securing his status as one of the greatest actors of his generation after scooping back to back Academy Awards for Best Actor in Philadelphia and Forrest Gump, Tom Hanks was most well known for his work in the comedy genre, and it seems hard to believe that many within the industry at the time were initially doubting his leading man status when he decided to segue into tackling more dramatic roles.
Before going on to headline comic hits like Bachelor Party, The Money Pit, Dragnet, Big, The ‘Burbs and Turner & Hooch, Hanks first broke out opposite Daryl Hannah in Splash, which was just his second ever feature film. The 1984 classic sees a young boy saved from drowning by a mermaid, only for them to fall in love 20 years later when she seeks him out.
One of the best rom-coms of the 1980s, Hanks and Hannah generated some serious chemistry in the light-hearted romp, and Splash still holds a strong Rotten Tomatoes score of 91%. A remake was first announced to be in the works in early 2016 with a gender-flipped twist that would have seen Channing Tatum as the mermaid and Jillian Bell as the human love interest, but there’s been no word on the project for over two years, leading many to believe it was dead.
However, a new report now claims that it’s back in development, although there’s no news on whether or not Tatum and Bell will still be involved. The former was also set to produce through his Free Association banner, but there was little in the way of additional talent attached besides the two leads, with the exception of Brian Grazer and original director Ron Howard as producers. Of course, fans were furious when Disney Plus censored Hannah’s butt for the movie’s streaming release, but that’s the only time Splash has made headlines recently and it seems we’ll have to wait a bit longer before we hear something official on this remake.