Channing Tatum as the 'Splash' mermaid? Disney could make this wish come true

LOS ANGELES -- Leave it to the wizards at Disney to figure out a way to cast Channing Tatum as a mermaid. Er, merman.

The studio has begun developing a gender-flipped remake of Ron Howard's 1984 rom-com Splash that will see the Magic Mike star taking on Daryl Hannah's iconic role and Workaholics actress Jillian Bell stepping into Tom Hanks' shoes, Mashable has confirmed. The duo previously worked together on 22 Jump Street.

Howard will produce under his Imagine Entertainment banner along with Brian Grazer, while Tatum will also produce with his Free Association partners Reid Carolin and Peter Kiernan. Imagine's Anna Culp will serve as executive producer.

Starting off on the right foot -- or rather, flipper -- the producers have hired Marja-Lewis Ryan, who adapted Sheryl Sandberg's book Lean In for Sony and has several projects in development with Tatum's company. She'll be tasked with telling the classic "Splash story" -- mermaid rescues human and they fall in love years later -- from a female perspective.

While Tatum as a bare-chested merman is a strong selling point, Bell's own stock is rising and a Splash remake could be her breakout film, though there are several more opportunities on the horizon. She co-stars in three high-profile studio comedies, including DreamWorks' Office Christmas Party with Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston, New Line's Fist Fight with Ice Cube and Charlie Day, and Sony's Rock That Body with Scarlett Johansson.

Tatum recently played a dancing sailor in the Coen brothers' Hail, Caesar! and will soon be seen in Kingsman: The Golden Circle. 

UTA represents both Tatum and Bell, who are respectively managed by Management 360 and 3 Arts Entertainment. News of the Splash remake was first reported by Deadline.