Daveed Diggs, who is known for his roles of Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson in the Lin-Manuel Miranda-created musical, is in talks to portray the Jamaican crab.
- Oct 9, 2019
AceShowbiz - Disney's "The Little Mermaid (2020)" is close to catching another of its aquatic members. The live-action remake of the studio's 1989 animated musical film is reportedly approaching Daveed Diggs to play Sebastian. According to Variety, the 37-year-old actor is currently in negotiations for the role.
In the original movie, Sebastian is a Jamaican crab and advisor of King Triton. Despite working for Triton, he has a big role in Ariel's adventure on the land as he tags along with her to keep her out of trouble. He sings two of the most famous songs in the movie, "Under the Sea" and "Kiss the Girl".
Halle Bailey is on board to play Ariel, while Javier Bardem has been cast as Ariel's father King Triton. Melissa McCarthy is tapped to play her evil aunt Ursula. Cameron Cuffe, Jonah Hauer-King, Christian Navarro and Asher Angel are rumored circling the role of Prince Eric, Ariel's love interest, after Harry Styles reportedly turned down the coveted part. Awkwafina is reportedly in talks to play a gender-swapped Scuttle, and Jacob Tremblay has been offered the role of Flounder.
Rob Marshall is set to direct the pic, which has a script written by Jane Goldman. Alan Menken, who scored the original movie, returns as composer for the upcoming remake. Menken will also write new songs for the movie alongside Lin-Manuel Miranda. Production for the movie is slated to begin in 2020.
Diggs originated the roles of Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson in critically-acclaimed musical "Hamilton" created by Miranda. After leaving the musical in 2016, the vocalist of the experimental hip hop group Clipping has appeared in recurring capacity on NBC's comedy "Black-ish" and starred in film "Wonder". He also wrote, produced and starred in 2018's film "Blindspotting", which earned him a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead.
