The internet, Twitter in particular, has been on fire as of late between storming Area 51 & #NotMyLittleMermaid. We have more fuel to the fire, so to speak, on the latter of those two now with Harry Styles in early talks to play Prince Eric. This comes from Collider, & displays a pattern in the seeking of the two main stars. They're definitely putting a focus on singing talent. Those that haven’t heard of Harry Styles, the One Direction singer made his acting debut in Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk. Of which I haven't seen yet. Leaving with no real ground to make a decision whether I think this is a good fit or not. He looks the Disney Prince part, & can sing. So until otherwise, I've gotta trust ‘em. Feelin’ that way with all these casting developments so far. I don’t really see any major problems. Except for the very publicity stunt feeling Ariel casting. Which is my only concern there. I think Halle Bailey will be great. I hope they keep the look. I saw a drawing of Halle with the straight red hair, purple shell top, & green tail, & it looked absolutely amazing. So, my only concern with her choice is the publicity backlash, & whether it will help or hurt in the long run. I’m even cool with internet sponsor of Terry Crews for Titon. Especially if they keep the blonde hair & beard. That would look epic. While that’s just a fan sponsor the other actual choices really work for me. With McCarthy in talks for Ursula, & Jacob Tremblay & Akwafina nearing deals for Flounder & Scuttle? Not only are the reactions to these decisions hilarious, there actually carving out a music heavy cast that might actually really surprise us. What do y’all think about this potential addition? Styles for Eric? Or no? Put it in the comments, like, & share.
Casting For Live Action “Little Mermaid”
Ariel has been announced for Disney's live-action Little Mermaid remake. Halle Bailey, a singer/actress I'm not so sure I'm too familiar with. She had a song in A Wrinkle in Time. That would probably be familiar. Other than that? Nothing. Zero way to form an opinion going in as of right now on my end. Sometimes that works out for the best though. I can at least say that. I got all this from THR. Which had also mentioned Jacob Tremblay, Awkwafina, & Melissa McCarthy being in early talks to join the Rob Marshall (“Mary Poppins Returns”) directed adaptation. McCarthy being up for Ursula if all goes through. Who I think i’d actually like in that role. I say actually because I haven't really liked any of the films she’s led. For some reason, I think a villain turn would really work for her though. Definitely some left field casting choices. That totally paid off for Aladdin though. If they can keep this fresh face thing up that’d be awesome to me. Makes it even easier to separate the actress or actor form the whole thing. What's y’alls thoughts though? Put ‘em in the comments, like, & share.
Rob Marshall For Disney's Live Action "Little Mermaid"?!?
I wasn't going to mention this yet, as though Deadline mentioned it, it'll be after the holidays before the decision is made. It appeared on Collider as well today though, so I'm going to have to guess there is some weight to it. Apparently Rob Marshall is on the top of the list to direct The Little Mermaid. As if he hasn't screwed up mermaids enough with Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the "Pirates" film I wish I could erase. Also responsible for Into the Woods, if I didn't know he also had Chicago & Memoirs of a Geisha under his belt, I would doubt his abilities all together. He must have something to him if they're also trusting him with Mary Poppins Returns though. That or he has some dirt on someone he's using as leverage. I'm not freaking out yet, but I'm definitely concerned. I really want this to be good. We're already a good portion of the way there with original composer Alan Menken teaming up with Lin-Manuel Miranda for the music. Let's just hope we're getting the guy that did Memoirs of a Geisha & not the guy that did Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. What do y'all think about this consideration though? Put it in the comments, like, & share.
Is Lin-Manuel Miranda Disney's Drake?
Word on Collider Movie Talk from D23 on Sunday is Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton creator & Moana song co-writer, will be joining the great, Alan Menken composing the score for the live-action Little Mermaid. Now the craziest part about this news to me is this movie doesn't have a director, cast, or a release date as of now. Yet we know who's doing the music. I don't think I've ever heard of something like this. I've never heard of a movie announcing it's composer before it's director or cast, but this is a musical. So, I guess it's the perfect move considering that's the most important part. Disney's just locking this guy down though. With Moana, Mary Poppins, & now this. it really is like they're using the "put him on every track, "Drake Approach". After Moana though, could you blame them? Every song in that movie was not only on point, they had purpose & feeling. Passionately moving along the story at the same time. Teaming him with Alan Menkin though? Bravo! I can't wait to hear what this team gives us. What do y'all think about this awesome super power team-up? Let us know in the comments, like, & share.
15 Live-Action Remakes & My Thoughts
Chip & Company sent out a list of upcoming 15 Disney live-action remakes today & I figured I'd share my thoughts on each of them. Most of these are expected, but there's a few surprises & a couple thay may just leave you scratching your head. So with no further ado, I give you:
- The Lion King: We've talked about this one recently with rumors that director, Jon Favreau eyeing Beyonce for Nala. She would join already casted Donald Glover & James Earl Jones. Yeah, ain't it great that the only replacement for James Earl Jones isJames Earl Jones. I'm excited for this. Jon Favreau did great with Jungle Book, giving me very little to worry about on this one.
- Mulan: To also be a subject later. We got writers Lauren Hynek & Elizabeth Martin along with director Niki Caro who can't make up her mind on if or where music has a place in this film. (More on that later.) I'm actually looking mord forward to this than I ever was the animated version. I love martial arts epics, & that sounds like what we'll be getting with this.
- Aladdin: One of, if not my favorite of the classics. We've got a team of directors in Guy Ritchie & John August, & I'm not sure if this worries or excites me. Though it seems a strange pick, I've got a bigger list of Guy Ritchie films I've enjoyed than I haven't. So that being said I'm more than intrigued.
- Jungle Book 2: Jon Favreau's directing is all we know about this one & this is one of the head scratchers for me. With Disney's track record for sequels you would figure this slot would br open for a different remake. So basically, I want to see this still, I'm just hoping I want to see it again afterward.
- Maleficent 2: Screenwriter Linda Woolverton & main title role Angelina Jolie are coming back on for who cares? I mean really, the first one went out of it's way to destroy one of the greatest on screen villians of all time. How? By making her not a villian. Otherwise played perfectly, this film took the evil out of a villian so hateful she wished death upon a baby just for not being invited to a party. So on this sequel, I'll pass.
- Mary Poppins Returns: This one's not a remake, but a sequel. It's currently has Emily Blunt as the main character, Lin-manuel Miranda, and Dick Van Dyke returning to his role. I found a love for Mary Poppins late in life and that's probably one of the reasons that I am secretly looking very much forward to the sequel.
- Snow White: Now this one's a little iffy for me. Mainly because it seems like it's been done a lot recently. However I will give it a chance, as it's one of my favorite stories, and nobody does stories like Disney does stories. Anyway, we have Priscilla Wilson as a writer and Justin Paul and Benj Pasek will be writing new original music for the film.
- Rose Red: I don't know much of what to say about this one, and it's mainly because I don't know what this one's about. Apparently Snow White and Rose Red is about two sisters that encounter an enchanted bear. It's also rumored that this film is not going to follow that storyline anyway. So it looks like anyone who does know about this one, well, they might not really know about it either.
- The Little Mermaid: I tell you this, we know the music's going to be amazing. Lin-manuel Miranda is teaming up with the original songwriter Alan Menken to write a new music to go along with the pre-existing songs in the film. This especially gets my attention as new music sounds like new scenes, and new scenes sound like the expanding a story that I've always loved. Even if I thought was a little short to begin with.
- Peter Pan: Another one the list we don't know too much about other than it's directed by David Lowery and written by Lowery and Toby Halbrooks. I personally can't wait for another Peter Pan as many people have tried this since the animated version, and Hook has been the closest thing to get it right. Which doesn't really count as it's a sequel.
- Oliver & Company: Tommy Kail is on board to direct this remake that was about a cat that got taken in by a bunch of street smart dogs. One of the best things about this was the music and hopefully we can recapture that. As a kid this burned into me that Billy Joel was the man. This was another one of my childhood favorites.
- James & the Giant Peach: This was announced last year to be written by Nick Hornby and directed by Sam Mendes. It'll be a live-action remake of the '96 stop-action film. While James and the Giant Peach never really stood out for me, I am very curious to see how someone would pull off something so ambitious to try to create in live-action.
- Winnie the Pooh: I love this silly old bear. The film is supposed to be directed by Marc Forster and written by Alex Ross Perry and there's a rumor that it could be titled Christopher Robin. I've heard many theories on this live-action movie and all of them sound just as great as the next.
- Dumbo: Oh Dumbo. Written by Ehren Krueger, directed by Tim Burtonm with Colin Farrell and Danny DeVito in talks to star I just don't know really what to think about this one. With talk of a family from Kentucky, a big ring circus taking over a small ring circus, and no talk of flying elephants I'm not sure what we're even going to get with this one.
- Cruella: With Emma Stone set to star in the title role I don't know whether to be excited or reserved on this actually happening, and I think most of that lands on Maleficent. Thankfully, I don't see any way even Disney could turn someone who wants to kill a bunch of puppies for a coat, into any shade of a good person. So, if that's the case, this might finally be the villain picture I was looking for.
So there you go there's my thoughts on the big 15 coming out sooner or later. What do you think? Do you agree, do you disagree? Do you have some altogether different insights? I would love to hear it, let me know in the comments, and don't forget to like and share.
