Move over, Melissa McCarthy. There’s another contender for the role of Ursula in the live action adaptation of The Little Mermaid.
Melissa Viviane Jefferson, known professionally as Lizzo, made her pitch for the role on Twitter Friday, shortly after news broke of McCarthy being in talks for the part, to which Lizzo reacted with a crying emoji. The singer/rapper/presenter made her bid with a vocal rendition of the song “Poor Unfortunate Souls” from the film.
Lizzo has two albums out. Her sole acting credit is for a one episode shot in the role of “Alex” in The Memestar Chronicles, a 2017 TV series.
McCarthy’s name was floated earlier for the role in the Rob Marshall-directed film, which will feature Alan Menken and Howard Ashman’s songs from the original 1989 animated feature (“Under the Sea” won the Oscar) and new tunes from Menken and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
David Magee wrote the latest script for the reboot after Jane Goldman. Marc Platt, Marshall, Miranda and John DeLuca are producers. No release date has been set yet.
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