While Disney's princess characters get a lot of the attention from fans, it's possible that the company's villains are even more beloved. We just love to hate them so much. One of the stars of the new Beauty and the Beast loves one so much she's got her eye on the role down the road. The actress who plays Madame de Garderobe, Audra McDonald, has already put her name up for consideration as Ursula in the live-action take on The Little Mermaid.
If they made a live-action Little Mermaid, I'd want to be Ursula. That would be fun role to play. I would love that. If there's a hat, I'll catapult my name into it however I possibly can.
As it so happens, a live-action version of The Little Mermaid is in development at Disney, so Audra McDonald's comments to ComicBook.com could end up getting her considered for just such a role. At this point, the film hasn't been placed on Disney's official schedule yet, but it's one of several Disney projects that Lin-Manuel Miranda is currently attached to, so there's clearly an intention to get a live-action version made at some point down the road.
Audra McDonald opens the new Beauty and the Beast with a fantastic aria that shows off just how powerful a singer she is. She then spends the rest of the film transformed into a wardrobe. Even then, her amazing voice comes through. She's in love with her partner Maestro Cadenza, played by Stanley Tucci, a relationship that will have a lasting impact on Disney as a company.
As for Ursula the sea witch, she's the main villain of The Little Mermaid and she's one of the most gloriously evil characters in Disney's animated history. She's an absolutely huge character both physically and simply in the way her presence on screen takes over whenever she's there. We're already imagining Audra McDonald performing a rendition of "Poor Unfortunate Souls" and we're on board. Make this casting happen.
Beauty and the Beast is on track to have a huge opening this weekend and its success will only speed up the production of additional live-action adaptations. Aladdin and Mulan are already in pre-production and Disney already has a number of release dates set aside for additional adaptations over the next several years. The Little Mermaid was the film that birthed the Disney Renaissance so there are about as many fans of that one as there are for Beauty and the Beast.
Who would you dream cast for the roles in a live-action The Little Mermaid? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments.
