【Esther Moser】

LOS ANGELES -- Tom Hanks wants to make a Splashwith Channing Tatum as the mermaid.

The Esther MoserAssociated Pressasked Hanks on the Infernored carpet Tuesday night whether he would be involved in the project that Disney started developing over the summer.

"No one asked me. I'm all in favor of it!" Hanks said, adding: "Look, if they were really gonna be bold, I would come back as Alan Bauer and I would go off with Channing Tatum. That would be a bold movie, and I am suggesting it right now."

See Hanks give his blessing in the video below:

Infernodirector Ron Howard (who stopped by Mashable's LA office earlier in the day for a long chat), helmer of the original 1984 film that converted Hanks from TV actor to movie star, said the Splashremake with Tatum as the mermaid is still in early development -- and he hasn't counted himself out as director.

"Look, it's a bit of an experiment," Howard said. "We're gonna have to see how the screenplay comes together. ... We'll see, it'll be a lot of fun."

(Editor: {typename type="name"/})