‘The Little Mermaid,’ another one of Disney’s live-action reimaginings, now has two more actors in talks to join the cast. Jacob Tremblay for the role of Ariel’s companion Flounder, and Awkwafina for Scuttle, now as a diving bird instead of a seagull.
Tremblay is popular for his roles in Lenny Abrahamson’s ‘Room’ and Stephen Chbosky’s ‘Wonder.’ He was recently in an episode of the CBS All Access reboot of ‘The Twilight Zone.’ Next, he has Universal’s ‘Good Boys,’ releasing August 16th, and Mike Flanagan’s ‘Doctor Sleep,’ releasing November 8th.
Awkwafina broke with her back to back roles in the Warner Bros. films ‘Ocean’s 8’ and ‘Crazy Rich Asians.’ Other recent credits include Youtube Premium’s ‘Weird City’ and Netflix’s ‘Tuca & Bertie.’ Next, she has Netflix’s ‘The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance,’ premiering August 30th, and Sony’s ‘Jumanji: The Next Level,’ releasing December 13th.
The premise of the animated film is below:
“A mermaid princess makes a Faustian bargain in an attempt to become human and win a prince’s love.”
Moreover, Rob Marshall (‘Chicago’) will reunite with writer David Magee (‘Life of Pi’) on this film. The two recently did last year’s ‘Mary Poppins Returns.’ The previous draft of the screenplay was from Jane Goldman (‘X-Men: First Class,’ the ‘Kingsman’ films).
Additionally, the film will incorporate songs from the original 1989 version. Returning composer Alan Menken (‘Beauty and the Beast,’ ‘Aladdin’) and Lin-Manuel Miranda (‘Hamilton,’ ‘Moana’) will also create new music.
Further, filming is aiming to begin April 2020, with the studio looking to wrap sometime in August. Locations may include the Cayman Islands and South Africa. Maro, La Cala, Torre del Mar, Almayate, Chilches, Benajarafe, and Torrox are also possible.
Lastly, there is no official word regarding the casting of Ariel, the titular mermaid. The most popular fancast is Zendaya (‘Euphoria,’ ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’).
There is currently no release date as of now, but it will likely release sometime in 2021. Options include March 12th, May 28th, July 30th, and October 8th.
Source: Variety