Jacob Tremblay and Awkwafina have signed on to play Flounder and Scuttle, respectively, in Disney’s live-action adaptation of “The Little Mermaid.”
Variety first reported that Melissa McCarthy would be taking on the role of Ursula the Sea Witch. Over the weekend, journalist Kris Tapley announced on Twitter that Tremblay and Awkwafina would be joining the cast.
“Mary Poppins Returns” director Rob Marshall is helming “The Little Mermaid,” which will incorporate original songs from the 1989 animated hit as well as new tunes from original composer Alan Menken and “Moana’s” Lin-Manuel Miranda. Miranda is also producing the film along with Marshall, Marc Platt and John DeLuca. David Magee wrote the script with Jane Goldman writing a previous draft.
Jessica Virtue and Allison Erlikhman are overseeing for the studio.
The original “Little Mermaid” follows Ariel, a mermaid princess who wants to become a human and capture the attention of Prince Eric. Menken’s music included the Oscar-winning “Under the Sea,” “Part of Your World” and “Kiss the Girl.” Scuttle and Flounder are Ariel’s best friends, a seagull and fish, respectively.
Tremblay will next appear in “Doctor Sleep,” Warner Bros.’ adaptation of Stephen King’s sequel to “The Shining.”
Awkwafina is voicing a character in Netflix’s upcoming series, “Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance” and can be seen in Sony’s upcoming Jumanji sequel, “Jumanji: the Next Level” as well as Lulu Wang’s “The Farewell,” which hits theaters July 12.
Tremblay is repped by UTA and Play Management and Awkwafina is repped by UTA and Artists First.