Arrow's Colton Haynes Has Best Response to Melissa McCarthy Being Cast as Ursula in the Little Mermaid

For fans of Disney's The Little Mermaid, Friday brought some exciting news. While the deal is not [...]

By Nicole Drum

For fans of Disney's The Little Mermaid, Friday brought some exciting news. While the deal is not yet finalized, Melissa McCarthy is in early discussions to play the role of the iconic, fan-favorite villain Ursula in live-action adaptation of the animated classic The Little Mermaid. However, there's at least one fan out there a tiny bit disappointed for the update, albeit jokingly: Arrow star Colton Haynes.

After the news broke on Friday, Haynes took to Twitter with a throwback photo of himself decked out in Ursula fabulousness for Halloween 2017. In the caption he joked that he was "so close" to having landed the Ursula role himself. Check it out below.

"Sad things didn't go my way in the end but congratulations to @melissamccarthy," Haynes wrote. "I was so close.

On Friday, Variety reported that McCarthy is in talks for the film from Mary Poppins Returns director Rob Marshall. While The Little Mermaid doesn't yet have a release date assigned, Walt Disney Studios has already earmarked a few dates over the coming years, meaning that the film could slot into one of them depending on when production kicks off.

Ursula has been a fan-favorite Disney villain since the character first graced the screen in the beloved 1989 animated film with her signature song, "Poor Unfortunate Souls" by original actress Pat Carroll obtaining iconic status among fans. The character was infamously modeled after popular drag icon Divine who starred in the theatrical version of Hairspray. Sadly, Divine passed away before he could participate in the production of the 1989 film.

Right now, other than the McCarthy news, not a whole lot is known about The Little Mermaid's live-action adaptation plans, but Marshall did tell ComicBook.com previously that he's excited to update the film for a new generation -- including new musical numbers for the soundtrack.

"There are things I've learned about how you have to work to integrate songs into story, and how it has to feel earned. It can't just be sort of put there, placed there, because you feel there should be a song," Marshall said.

"It has to be a song that's earned, that takes you there. And so as we're working on, in a way, fleshing out The Little Mermaid — Ariel has one song in the animated film — and so we're looking for maybe more material."

Of course Marshall will be joined by Disney fan-favorite songwriter Alan Menken, who also recently updated the soundtracks for the remakes of Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin. Menken will be joined by one of Marshall's latest collaborators, with Hamilton scribe and Mary Poppins Returns star Lin-Manuel Miranda continuing his partnership with Walt Disney Studios.

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