The 'Greatest Showman' actress is reportedly offered the lead role in the upcoming movie which will reimagine Disney's animated film.
- Aug 23, 2018
AceShowbiz - Zendaya Coleman may go underwater for her next big-screen role. The "Spider-Man: Homecoming" star is reportedly eyed to star in Disney's "The Little Mermaid" live-action movie, which has Rob Marshall ("Chicago", "Into the Woods", "Mary Poppins Returns") on board as director.
According to That Hashtag Show which first reported Zendaya's possible involvement in the project, Disney is likely taking a new route with the new adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen story by casting a woman of color in the lead role of Ariel.
Disney and reps for the actress have not commented on the news. Should the report be true, the role of King Triton, Ariel's father, would also go to an actor of color.
Zendaya was a star on Disney's sitcom "Shake It Up" and "K.C. Undercover" before she gained roles in big-screen movies such as "Spider-Man: Homecoming" and "The Greatest Showman". She showed her impressive vocal chops in the latter title. She is set to reprise her role as Michelle "MJ" Jones in "Spider-Man: Far From Home" which is currently in production.
Disney's upcoming "The Little Mermaid" movie is eyed to be a live-action reimagining of the studio's classic animated musical movie. Alan Menken and Lin-Manuel Miranda are tapped to compose the music, while Jane Goldman is hired to write the script. Production is expected to take place in Puerto Rico and Cape Town Africa, but no release date is set for the movie just yet.
"The Little Mermaid" is one of Disney's live-action movies which have been in development. The studio is also planning "The Lion King", "Peter Pan", "Snow White" and "Cruella", a pic centering on Cruella de Vil from "101 Dalmatians". A new "Mulan" movie starring Liu Yifei in the lead role recently started production, "Maleficent 2" starring Angelina Jolie has wrapped up its filming, and a live-action "Dumbo" is set to arrive on March 29, 2019.
