Melissa McCarthy Was Shocked She Got Ursula Role Instead of Lizzo

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney+, Uncategorized

Via DisDining.com

All the way back in 2016, Disney announced that they were developing a live-action remake of the classic film, The Little Mermaid. The remake was just one of many remakes Disney was going to remake. Disney has also remade Cinderella, The Jungle Book, Pete’s Dragon, The Lion King, and Mulan, among others.

Details on The Little Mermaid were scant, but over time, it was announced that Halle Bailey would be playing the titular sea creature. Javier Bardem was also announced for the role of the sea king, King Triton. Hamilton star Daveed Diggs was given the role of Sebastian and comedian Awkwafina will be playing Ariel’s friend Scuttle.

Little Mermaid casting

Also cast in the new movie is veteran comedic actress Melissa McCarthy — who will play the sea witch Ursula. Some were surprised to see McCarthy cast in a musical role, considering she has never been in a musical. One of those who was surprised — and slightly disappointed — was superstar singer Lizzo. Lizzo had expressed interest in the past for The Little Mermaid role.

The songstress even shared a video of herself dressed as Ursula and singing the song “Poor Unfortunate Souls”.

Lizzo recently spoke to Variety and shared that she had actually run into Melissa McCarthy and told her that she had auditioned for the role McCarthy ended up getting. Per Variety:

Lizzo ended up running into McCarthy during the taping of Adele’s “One Night Only” CBS concert special in Los Angeles, and the two women bonded over their shared Ursula history.

“She was like, ‘Hi, I’m Melissa,’” Lizzo said. “And I was like, ‘Hi, I’m Melissa. And I also auditioned for Ursula.’ And she was like, ‘Well, why the hell did I get the part?,’ which is a classic Melissa McCarthy thing to say. And then I was like, ‘Girl, because my audition was terrible.’ And I say that as Tyler Perry walks by. And I was like — ruined my chances there. And then she goes, ‘This is my daughter Vivian.’ And I’m like, ‘Get out of here, because my name is Melissa Viviane.’ We were looking at each other like, ‘What the hell is going on?’”

Melissa McCarthy

After a series of delays due to COVID, filming has wrapped on the live-action film, and it is currently in post-production. Disney has announced that the film will be released on Memorial Day weekend, hitting theaters on May 26, 2023. Even though the film is being released later than originally expected, Bailey has assured fans that it is worth the wait.

Zachary Levi Reveals How a Small Lie Landed Him His ‘Tangled’ Role

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Via DisDining.com

The fog has lifted, and Zachary Levi has at last shown us the light. The actor — best known to Disney fans for voicing the character of Flynn Rider AKA Eugene Fitzherbert in the 2010 film Tangled — revealed in an interview that a lie actually landed him a role in the film. Levi not only voiced Flynn Rider in the original film, but then reprised his role alongside costar Mandy Moore in Tangled: The Series, which premiered in 2017, Tangled Ever After, and more.

Zachary Levi recently sat down with James Corden for his Late Late Show and told the host that Disney originally wanted a British actor for the role of outlaw Flynn Rider. Tangled — based on the Rapunzel fairy tale — creators have said that the film takes place in the 1780s (although evidence in the films points to the 1830s/40s), so they originally wanted actors with British accents to play the lead roles in the film.

Tangled

Levi explained to Corden that he has a penchant for doing accents, so his agent told a small, white lie in order to get him an audition. Levi said:

But no, yes, I did. I was in Tangled for Disney which was such an incredible film and experience. They thought Flynn Rider – the role I ultimately played – they wanted him to have an English accent and they wouldn’t even see American actors. Fortunately, my voiceover agent knew that I did a decent English accent and she fought for me and I got in. I might’ve been one of the only Americans to get in there and then they gave me the job.

Tangled

Levi also revealed that, even though a British actor was originally desired for the role, Disney, for some reason, ended up changing their mind and decided that they wanted Flynn Rider to sound American. That created quite an easy shift for the actor, who is from Lake Charles, Louisiana. Disney also decided to make most of the cast American, which lead to the casting of Mandy Moore as Rapunzel and Donna Murphy as Mother Gothel.

Tangled, Tangled Ever After, Tangled Before Ever After, Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure, and Tangled: Short Cuts are all available to stream on Disney+. Both Zachary Levi and Mandy Moore reprised their roles as Flynn and Rapunzel for all the films and series.

Actress Melissa McCarthy As Ursula

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Actress Melissa McCarthy landed the role of Ursula in Disney’s live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, and she just couldn’t be happier.

“The world of Disney and (director) Rob Marshall is a world that I wish everyone could experience because it’s so creative, kind, and lovely,” the Ghostbusters actress gushed. “Going to singing class every day, I got to record with an orchestra, which is a mind-bender for someone who is not a singer, but it was such a fun process.”

The new take on the story of Ariel has been in the works for a while now, and though filming has ended, the release date isn’t slated for a while yet: 2023, to be exact.

The film is directed by Rob Marshall. Original composer Alan Menken has been on hand to create music for the new film, and the ever-talented Lin-Manuel Miranda has lent his creative talents to music for the film as well.

Grownish actress Halle Bailey stars as Ariel in the retelling of the tale of the mermaid who longs for legs and her willingness to do what it takes to get them. This is Bailey’s first major film role.

Javier Bardem plays Ariel’s father, King Triton, and Jonah Hauer-King plays the role of Ariel’s love interest, Prince Eric. (Sorry, Harry Styles.)

Actress Awkwafina plays Scuttle the Seagull, and Daveed Diggs plays King Triton’s chief assistant crustacean, Sebastian, and Jacob Tremblay plays Ariel’s sidekick (or sideswimmer?) Flounder.

Melissa McCarthy, who says Ursula is one of her favorite villains, happily plays the role of the evil sea witch who hopes to take Ariel’s voice and keep her from Prince Eric.

“It’s going to be incredible,” McCarthy shared. “To me, Ursula is everything. She’s one of my absolute favorite villains so to play her was delicious.”

Though it’s not her first major role, The Little Mermaid will be the first musical in which McCarthy has starred, and we can’t wait to see the transformation of McCarthy into the half-human/half-octopus Ursula!

‘The Lion King’ Prequel Adds Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Aaron Pierre in Leading Roles

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The prequel to the 2019 live-action remake of “The Lion King” has cast its lead roles, with Aaron Pierre (“Old”) voicing Mufasa and Kelvin Harrison Jr. (“Waves”) voicing Scar.

According to Deadline, The movie will follow the brothers in their youth, back when Harrison Jr.’s Scar was known as Taka. More details about the plot have yet to be released. Writer Jeff Nathanson is returning, and the film will be directed by Barry Jenkins (“Moonlight”).

This will be the first theatrical chapter in the franchise where the role of Mufasa has not been voiced by James Earl Jones. Jones shares the role with Gary Anthony Williams in Disney Jr.’s “The Lion Guard,” but neither actor has been tied to the new film.

New Eternals Trailer – Mark Ruffalo Reacts

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The newest Eternal trailer has thrilled Marvel fans and brought a look at the immortal super-team and the movie’s story like we have never seen before.

It isn’t just the fans that are excited, but the Green Goliath, Mark Ruffalo, as well. “Someone worse than Thanos?!” Ruffalo captioned his retweet of the Eternals trailer, along with a thinking emoji. “Fighting evil never ends.” Spoken like a true Avengers veteran.

Ruffalo refers to the Deviants as being worse than Thanos, but actually, the Mad Titan is a Deviant himself in the comics. It’s unclear if this connection will be referenced in the MCU, however. Still, this trailer makes clear that Eternals won’t be shying away from its connections to the wider franchise, including revealing our first look at the Celestials in the movie.