Daveed Diggs in talks to play Sebastian in Disney’s The Little Mermaid

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Disney's seemingly unending onslaught of live-action remakes of their animated classics continues, and one of the many projects in the works is THE LITTLE MERMAID. The live-action film is set to be helmed by Rob Marshall (MARY POPPINS RETURNS) and the cast is starting to come together, and according to Variety, the latest addition may very well be Hamilton star Daveed Diggs.

The outlet has reported that Daveed Diggs is in talks to play Sebastian, the crab who serves as King Triton's advisor as well as the court composer. Should Diggs sign on, he would join Halle Bailey (Grown-ish) as Ariel, Melissa McCarthy (THE KITCHEN) as Ursula, Jacob Tremblay (GOOD BOYS) as Flounder, and Awkwafina (JUMANJIA: THE NEXT LEVEL) as Scuttle. Javier Bardem is still in talks for the role of King Triton. The role of Prince Eric, Ariel's human love interest, is still up in the air, with Harry Styles (DUNKIRK) passing on the role earlier this year. Last month, Deadline reported that Cameron Cuffe (Krypton) and Jonah Hauer-King (Little Women) had tested for the Prince Eric role, but no decision has been made yet. Original LITTLE MERMAID composer Alan Menken is returning to score new tunes with lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and production is expected to kick off next year.

Daveed Diggs will soon be seen staring alongside Jennifer Connelly in Snowpiercer, an upcoming TNT series which is set seven years after the world has become a frozen wasteland and centers on the remnants of humanity, who inhabit a gigantic, perpetually-moving train that circles the globe. Diggs plays Andre Layton, an ex-detective who is recruited by the train's ruling authorities in order to track down a killer. "Layton is a resident of the tail, which is the lowest class all the way at the back of the train," Diggs said. "But he becomes useful for people uptrain." Snowpiercer will launch on TNT next spring.