The Little Mermaid Might Have Found Its Supporting Cast in Awkwafina and Jacob Tremblay
Melissa McCarthy, Jacob Tremblay, and Awkwafina are in talks to join the remake of the Disney classic.
With The Lion King remake just days from being released into the world, the next order of business will be looking towards Disney’s future reboot of The Little Mermaid.
The film will be a combination of live action and CGI, not unlike Disney’s Aladdin remake that was released earlier this year, and will receive an updated book of music from the original 1989 animated movie’s composer Alan Menken and Lin-Manuel Miranda. Despite pleas from Lindsay Lohan to take on the titular role, there has yet to be an announcement from Disney regarding the casting of who will play the iconic red-headed mermaid on film.
Sure, everyone cares about Ariel (she is the title character, after all), but her supportive friends—Flounder and Scuttle—are just as important to the story, and we are inching closer towards confirmation of the actors rumored to take on those roles. Per Variety, Awkwafina is in talks to sign on to the project as Scuttle, the eccentric seagull who introduces the magic of combing one’s hair with a fork to Ariel. The role of Flounder, the mermaid’s anxious tropical fish friend who acts more like a little brother, is reportedly going to Jacob Tremblay.
Twitter was adamant about casting Lizzo in the role of Ursula, the evil purple anthropomorphic octopus who steal’s Ariel’s voice in exchange for human legs and renders her nearly incapable of communicating with her prince charming when he finds her washed up on the shore. Instead, it was recently reported that the role will likely go to Melissa McCarthy, which apparently did not sit too well with the musician. She took to Twitter to share her disappointment with the casting news, and added a saddened emoji to a quoted tweet of her rendition of Ursula’s villain song, “Poor Unfortunate Souls.”
As for the other two most important supporting characters in the underwater empire and on land—Sebastian, the crab responsible for “Under the Sea,” arguably one of the soundtrack’s more recognizable songs, and Prince Eric, Ariel’s love interest—we’ll have to wait and see.
Related: Lindsay Lohan Cannot Believe She Was Passed Over for The Little Mermaid Casting Yet Again
