Update, October 13, 2019: It's official: Billy Porter is joining James Corden's Cinderella remake.
Porter shared the news at the New Yorker Festival and then on the New Yorker's Instagram stories, he said, "I have a couple movies that I'm working on. I'm gonna be playing the fairy godmother in the new Cinderella movie with Camila Cabello."
It's safe to say the movie, a "modern re-imagining of the classic fairytale," according to E! News, will be nothing short of fabulous.
This article was originally published on October 11, 2019.
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Frozen star Idina Menzel didn’t let the cold bother her as Elsa, and now, the actress may portray a different kind of ice queen. Menzel is reportedly in talks for a new version of Cinderella with Camila Cabello, according to Deadline, where she would portray the iconic wicked stepmother.
The new film hails from producer James Corden and writer-director Kay Cannon. It is a musical interpretation of the classic fairytale. Cabello is set to portray the titular soon-to-be princess, walking in the glass slippers of stars like Brandy, who appeared in the 1997 movie musical version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, and Lily James, who starred in Disney’s 2015 update on the animated movie.
“It was one of those things that felt like God handcrafted it for me and was, like, ‘Here you go.'” Cabello told Variety of taking on the movie. “I just couldn’t say no. It’s honestly a dream for me. And also a little bit terrifying.”
Menzel isn’t the only person in talks to join Cabello in the upcoming film. On Thursday, it was announced by The Hollywood Reporter that Pose star Billy Porter is being sought for the role of Fairy Godmother, a role previously played by Whitney Houston in the 1997 version.
Porter famously made history with his 2019 Emmy for Pose, where he became the first openly queer Black actor to win for a lead actor category.
“I’m so overwhelmed and I am so overjoyed to have lived long enough to see this day. James Baldwin said, ‘It took many years of vomiting up all the filth that I had been taught about myself and half-way believed, before I could walk around this earth like I had the right to be here,’” Porter said in acceptance his speech. “I have the right. You have the right. We all the right!”
All of this casting news is fantastic, and now the only question left is: Will Cabello convince her real-life boyfriend Shawn Mendes to join the project as Prince Charming? If we couldn’t get Harry Styles for The Little Mermaid, this might just be the next best thing.
Refinery29 reached out to Menzel and Porter for comment.