Ariana Grande’s Dream of Playing Meg in the Live Action ‘Hercules’ Might Be Coming True

Disney confirmed that a live-action Hercules movie is officially in the works—and there's an internet campaign to see Ariana Grande cast as Megara.

los angeles, california january 26 ariana grande arrives at the 62nd annual grammy awards at staples center on january 26, 2020 in los angeles, california photo by steve granitzwireimage
(Image credit: Kevin Mazur)
  • Ariana Grande is a big Hercules fan, recently performing "I Won't Say I'm In Love" for ABC's Disney Family Singalong.
  • There's an internet campaign to see her cast as Megara in a live-action remake of the movie.
  • On Thursday, Disney confirmed that a live-action Hercules movie is officially in the works.

As you're probably aware, Ariana Grande is a very big fan of Disney's Hercules—so much so that she performed Megara's "I Won't Say I'm In Love," complete with all the harmonies, during ABC's Disney Family Singalong earlier this month. Let's take a moment to revisit said performance, because it was delightful:

Susan Egan, who played Meg in the Disney movie, said Grande's performance "couldn’t be more perfect"—and Grande was ever so slightly thrilled about that:

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Why are we discussing this? Well, as you may also be aware, a very large segment of the internet is very invested in Grande playing Meg in a live-action remake of Hercules, and it seems safe to assume Grande would also be firmly on board. And on Thursday, April 30, Variety confirmed that a live-action remake was in the works, produced by Joe and Anthony Russo (of Avengers fame). Ari's already demonstrated, through her many years playing Cat Valentine, that she can pull off red hair. So...is it really too much of a stretch to assume she's in the running to play Meg?

One Disney alum has already declared his support for the internet's desired casting: Josh Gad, who played Olaf in Frozen and LeFou in Beauty and the Beast. Speaking to Variety, Gad said, "She would be amazing as Meg, she would be perfect, I would love to see that happen." (He put himself firmly out of the running for the role of Philoctetes, played in the original movie by Danny DeVito, saying, "I am good, I feel like I definitely have had and continue to have an incredible run of projects with the Disney company, but I don’t think anyone wants to see me take on yet another role in a live-action remake of an animated movie.")

Disney, hear me out: Gad is on board. The rest of the internet is on board. We could all use some cheer in these extremely bleak times. How about you just give Ariana the role?

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(Image credit: Kevin Mazur)
Emily Dixon
Morning Editor

Emily Dixon is a British journalist who’s contributed to CNN, Teen Vogue, Time, Glamour, The Guardian, Wonderland, The Big Roundtable, Bust, and more, on everything from mental health to fashion to political activism to feminist zine collectives. She’s also a committed Beyoncé, Kacey Musgraves, and Tracee Ellis Ross fan, an enthusiastic but terrible ballet dancer, and a proud Geordie lass.