As they have done for many of their animated classics, Disney are working on a live-action remake of
The Little Mermaid. Thus far, the cast of the remake includes Halle Bailey as the titular princess, Jacob Tremblay as Flounder, Awkwafina as Scuttle, and Melissa McCarthy is in talks to play the villainous role of Ursula.
Speaking of actors being in talks to play roles in
The Little Mermaid; a new report by
Variety has revealed that Daveed Diggs is up for the role of Sebastian. If you're unfamiliar with the original version of
The Little Mermaid, Sebastian is a companion of Ariel's much in the same way that Flounder is — only Sebastian is a red crab with a Jamaican accent.
Diggs is best known for portraying Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson in the Broadway production of
Hamilton — a project which saw him earn both a Grammy Award and Tony Award. Beyond the realm of theatres, Diggs featured in such films as
Wonder and
Blindspotting. He will also notably be appearing in the upcoming
Snowpiercer television series.
Rob Marshall serves as the director for the
Little Mermaid remake. Songs by Alan Menken and Lin-Manuel Miranda will feature — the latter of those songwriters is responsible for creating the
Hamilton musical which Diggs featured in. Meanwhile, it was recently reported that both Cameron Cuffe and Jonah Hauer-King have tested for the role of Prince Eric —
find out more on that here.