Hot off her role as Sister Iris in the hit Netflix series Cursed, Emily Coates will be going under the sea, as the 25-year-old actress has joined the cast of Disney’s live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid.
Details on her role are being kept under wraps, but according to sources, the roles is likely for Ursula’s human form, Vanessa, however that has yet to be confirmed. Earlier this Summer we reported that the studio was circling Kacey Musgraves for the role, but we quickly heard the Grammy winner passed. Coates is a much better fit for the role and is closer in age to both Halle Bailey (20), who plays Ariel, and Jonah Hauer-King (25), who plays Prince Eric.
Coates talent agency has also listed the film amongst her credits, which you can view below:
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The Little Mermaid is also set to star Melissa McCarthy as the villainous Sea Witch Ursula, Javier Bardem as King Triton, Jacob Tremblay as Flounder, Daveed Diggs as Sebastian, and Awkwafina as Scuttle.
Filming is expected to start production in November/Early December at Pinewood Studios in London. The film was just days away from filming back in March until the COVID-19 outbreak caused the studio to close production, sending the cast and crew back home. Filming was expected to resume this Summer but was pushed to accommodate McCarthy’s filming on the Hulu limited series, Nine Perfect Strangers.
Directed by Rob Marshall (Mary Poppins Returns, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides), the film will feature music from the 1989 animated classic as well as four brand-new songs. Menken has teased that those songs will consist of new ones for both King Triton (Bardem) and Scuttle (Awkwafina), we also hear Prince Eric will get his own song as well, and that another will feature a duo between both Ariel and Eric.
