Disney’s live-action remake of The Little Mermaid has found its potential voice actor, Daveed Diggs, for the role of the crab Sebastian. From its director Rob Marshall, The Little Mermaid is set to be one of Mouse House’s next innovations. This has brought Disney outstanding successes in the previous years, with box office hits such as The Lion King and Aladdin both garnering over $1 billion worldwide this year.
The Little Mermaid is rumored to have cast Melissa McCarthy as Ursula. She is a popular household name in the industry so the studio would be looking to cast a newcomer in the form of Halle Bailey. She will play the lead role of Ariel. As Disney goes to look for the new cast, they finally found a match for Sebastian the Crab.
According to Variety, Daveed Diggs is rumored to lend his voice for the role of Sebastian. Diggs is known for his performance in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton. He also starred in last year’s indie film Blindspotting, reprised his roles in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, The Get Down, and Black-ish, and will star in the Snowpiercer TV series.
It is assumed that Diggs will do the voice-only part, and not oblige him to shoot any motion performance, unlike past live-action Disney films. Sebastian is an important character as he sings part to some of The Little Mermaid‘s most popular songs, such as “Under the Sea” and “Kiss The Girl.”
Other cast includes Awkwafina and Jacob Tremblay who will voice Scuttle and Flounder respectively. Javier Bardem is set toplay Ariel’s father, King Triton. The role of Prince Eric is still vacant as Harry Styles turned down the offer, leaving Disney to search for someone else to play Ariel’s love interest.
There is no official release date yet but the studio is in the process of getting everything done, including completing the cast.
