The live action Aladdin has only been in theaters for few weeks, but already Disney is moving on to its next live action remake. This time it is The Little Mermaid that will be getting the adaptation treatment. Rob Marshall is set to direct the remake, and David Magee will be writing the script. While the iconic songs from the original movie will be present in the remake, Alan Menken and Lin-Manuel Miranda will be teaming up to produce some new music for this version.
According to Variety Disney is already working on casting for the remake. Right now Disney is seriously considering actress Melissa McCarthy for the role of Ursula the sea witch. McCarthy is best known for her comedic work in movies like Bridesmaids and The Spy, but was also recently nominated for an Oscar for her performance in the biopic Can You Ever Forgive Me.
In the original version of The Little Mermaid, Ursula was voiced by Pat Carroll and her physical appearance was famously inspired by the late drag queen Divine. Her connection to Divine has made Ursula a sort of LGBTQ icon. Despite the fact that she is villainess, Ursula has also been praised for being a plus sized female character. So casting McCarthy in this role would be staying true to the character’s original design. However looking the part is not the only important thing, in order to win the approval of rapid Disney fans McCarthy also needs to be able to sing Ursula’s songs too. Perhaps if Divine had lived she could have played Ursula, and that would have been divine casting.
Leave a Comment