Right now, everybody is talking about Lady Gaga. Her role in A Star is Born has people talking about Oscar nominations and it seems quite likely she'll be in high demand on the big screen going forward. A new rumor indicates one studio that is already interested in her is Disney, as they reportedly have her on a wish list for a role in the planned live-action version of The Little Mermaid. Considering Gaga's traditionally over-the-top persona, it seems obvious that if Disney wants her, they could very well want her to play the villain Ursula.
As with most rumors, this one comes with a ton of caveats. It is, after all, a rumor, so everything here should come with a grain of salt. What's more, the rumor itself only claims that Disney has Lady Gaga on a wishlist for a role, it does not claim what that role is. Still, if we accept the rumor, it's not exactly a leap of logic to guess that Ursula would be the most likely role that you would give to somebody with a stage persona like Lady Gaga. While A Star is Born cast the singer has a toned down version of herself, the Lady Gaga most of us know is all glitz and glamour and dresses made of meat. She'd be a perfect Ursula.
On the downside, our track record for Little Mermaid rumors hasn't been great so far. Previously it had been claimed that Disney had been looking at Zendaya in the title role, and while that's still technically possible, nobody has apparently spoken to her about it, though she's interested if anybody wants to. Still, the fact that one rumor hasn't panned out doesn't mean this new rumor from The DisInsider isn't valid.
With Lan-Manuel Miranda already on board to work on new songs for The Little Mermaid, and Into the Woods and Mary Poppins Returns director Rob Marshall potentially directing, the one thing we do know about the project is that it will be a musical, something which hasn't been the case with most Disney remakes. As such, we would expect Disney to be looking at actors who can perform the music as well.
I can't be the only one who is now wondering what a Lady Gaga version of "Poor Unfortunate Souls" would sound like. She's certainly got the vocal power to pull off such a performance, and while one would assume that Ursula will be created in the movie with no small amount of CGI, Lady Gaga is no stranger to transforming herself with some pretty wild looks and the idea of seeing her as Ursula just isn't the craziest thing we would have ever seen her do.
Even if this rumor turns out to be true it could be some time before anything gets confirmed. The new version of The Little Mermaid doesn't have a release date and with several other remake projects already on the slate, it will be at least a couple of years before this one goes anywhere. Until things like production schedules are nailed down nobody's participation can be a sure thing, so it may be a while before the official cast is announced. Still, we'll be keeping our eyes on this one to see where it goes.
