Ariana Grande is reportedly “flattered” admirers of Disney’s 1997 animated musical Hercules are fan-casting her for the role of Megara in the recently revealed live-action remake, but the superstar performer might prefer providing the film’s music over appearing in a starring role. Grande has emerged as a popular choice to play Meg since performing the character’s iconic song, “I Won’t Say (I’m in Love),” on The Disney Family Singalong special that aired on ABC. But Grande, who performed a love ballad for Disney’s live-action re-imagining of Beauty and the Beast that starred Emma Watson and Dan Stevens, is reportedly concerned saying “yes” to an acting role in Hercules could “ruin her memories” of the animated film.
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“Ariana is a huge Hercules fan and she was so happy that the fans loved her rendition of ‘I Won’t Say I’m In Love’ as much as she loved performing it,” a source close to Grande told HollywoodLife. “Ariana got her start in musicals so starring in a live-action remake of the movie isn’t out of the realm of possibility as far as her capabilities. She’s totally flattered that fans think she should play Megara but it’s way too soon and nothing has been decided yet.”
The Hercules reboot was only just recently confirmed to be in the works at Disney, with Avengers: Endgame directors Anthony and Joe Russo attached as producers for their AGBO production company.
Said another insider, “Ariana is obsessed with Disney and with musicals so this role would be a great fit for her. It’s still way too early in the game to say one way or the other though because they’re nowhere near casting. But it is definitely a big compliment that fans are pushing for her.”
Among those fans: Beauty and the Beast and Frozen star Josh Gad, who in a recent interview said Grande would be “perfect” for the role of Meg.
According to a third source, Grande is “focused on her music” over acting and could instead perform a song for the re-imagined Hercules. For 2017’s Beauty and the Beast, she covered the animated film’s main love theme with John Legend.
“Mostly, Ariana would be interested in doing a theme song over anything else — sort of like what she did with Beauty and the Beast with John Legend a few years ago,” the source said. “When it comes to something like Hercules, she loves the film and that changes things up to where she would take meetings and see where it would go. But ultimately she bounces in her mind back and forth that as much as she would love to do it, she also wouldn’t want to ruin it and ruin her memories of the original film. She goes back and forth on chasing those dreams and would for sure highly consider it if offered, but it really is based on her schedule and what she is doing in music at the time.”
Other popular fan-casts for the new movie include Jeff Goldblum or Jim Carrey for Hades, Meg’s hot-headed boss, and Spider-Man star Tom Holland and Stranger Things star Dacre Montgomery for the titular role of the super-strong Hercules. Many fans online are in agreement Danny DeVito, who voiced Phil in the animated film, should reprise his role in the live-action remake.
Disney has not set a release date for its live-action Hercules.
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Image Credit: Disney
