Channing Tatum to ‘play merman’ in gender-reversed Splash remake

Channing Tatum is reportedly set to play the lead part in a remake of Splash.

The Magic Mike star is expected to play a merman in the role made famous by Daryl Hannah in Ron Howard's 1984 classic.

According to Deadline, the gender-reversed remake will see comedian and actress Jillian Bell in the Tom Hanks role.

The acting pair starred opposite each other in the 2014 film 22 Jump Street, which topped the box office over in the US.

Disney will be helming the ‘re-imagining’ of the 80s film, alongside Howard and Brian Grazer, although Bell is thought to have originally pitched the idea.

The original film follows the story of a man who was saved by a mermaid (Hannah) as a boy and meets her again twenty years later.

After showing the mermaid around New York, he must then make the decision to stay on dry land or become a merman himself and follow her into the ocean.

The gender-swap film follows in the footsteps of the newly-released Ghostbusters, which saw the classic all-male cast replaced by female stars.

There are also plans for an all-female remake of Ocean’s Eleven, with Sandra Bullock expected to take on the lead role.

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