The new live-action remake of The Little Mermaid has been the talk of the Disney-fan town in recent months — with audience reactions ranging from praise for actress and singer Halle Bailey as she takes on the role of Ariel, to racist outcries against the incorporation of a “Black Ariel” into the Disney fold.
As the May premiere of the film comes closer and closer this year, more recent pieces of mermaid news (like the casting of a certain Bridgerton star in the film, and the new Disney movie’s drastically-longer runtime than its 1989 predecessor) have been in the forefront of Disney Fanatics’ minds.
However, some Disney fans will remember that there was one celebrity who actually campaigned hard for a role in the movie before 2023 — and after her audition for the role and her campaign on social media led to failure, the celebrity (who in a way did recently become a Disney princess, coincidentally) spoke up about whether or not she’s harboring any hard feelings toward the new film and the team that created it.
Singer Lizzo, who recently played a royal character on the Star Wars show called The Mandalorian and labeled herself as a “Disney princess”, initially expressed a strong desire to play a Disney villain instead.
The pop star wanted to play Ursula in the new live-action Little Mermaid opposite Halle Bailey.
Lizzo was not shy about expressing her interest in the role, and she did manage to get an audition with Disney. After auditioning and losing the role to Melissa McCarthy, Lizzo confirmed in an interview with Variety that she still thinks she would have excelled in the role of Ursula.
However, Lizzo has now joined the Disney family anyway by playing a character on a Star Wars show on Disney+. Lizzo played the Duchess of planet Plazir-15 opposite A-list actor Jack Black, who played her husband Captain Bombardier.
The Mandalorian episode was called “Chapter 22: Guns for Hire”, and according to director Bryce Dallas Howard, Lizzo “absolutely blew everyone away with her radiant presence”.
Do you think that The Mandalorian role was a consolation prize for Lizzo from Disney, or do you think that her casting was unrelated? Have you been enjoying this Star Wars show, or finding it to be lackluster?
Do you think that Lizzo would have been a better Ursula than The Heat and Bridesmaids actress Melissa McCarthy as well? Let us know on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!
