The Little Mermaid (live-action remake)
After that big Ursula news, we’ve got another important casting update for The Little Mermaid, Disney’s next live-action remake.
A young Jason Marin voiced Flounder, Ariel’s tropical fish buddy, in the 1989 animated film. Now, Jacob Tremblay of Room is in talks to take on the role in the upcoming adaptation from director Rob Marshall, EW has learned. Crazy Rich Asians‘ Awkwafina is also in talks to voice Scuttle, the talking seagull from the animated classic, originally voiced by Buddy Hackett.
The Little Mermaid follows the same loose, family-friendly interpretation of the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale: A mermaid named Ariel dreams of walking on land and falling in love with a prince, so she strikes a deal with the sea witch Ursula to become human in exchange for her voice.
“It’s about a woman finding her voice,” Marshall previously told EW. “A girl finding her voice, actually. And that immediately just felt like an interesting, timely piece that resonated with us.”
Melissa McCarthy is already in talks to voice Ursula in the film, which sees Alan Menken writing new music and Lin-Manuel Miranda (Marshall’s collaborator on Mary Poppins Returns) teaming with Menken to write the lyrics. Miranda also produces with La La Land‘s Marc Platt.
Tremblay was last seen on The Twilight Zone on CBS All Access and will appear this year in the R-rated comedy Good Boys and director Mike Flanagan’s adaptation of Stephen King’s Shining sequel Doctor Sleep. Awkwafina, meanwhile, received high acclaim from early festival screenings of The Farewell, the family dramedy written and directed by Lulu Wang.
The Hollywood Reporter was the first to report the news.
Related content:
Melissa McCarthy in talks to play Ursula in live-action Little Mermaid
How ‘Part of Your World’ became one of Disney’s most iconic songs
Lin-Manuel Miranda working on new Little Mermaid music with Alan Menken
The Little Mermaid (live-action remake)