Yahoo Finance The Little Mermaid remake has made a big change to Ursula
The upcoming Little Mermaid remake is giving Ursula a big change.
Melissa McCarthy's character will be the aunt of mermaid Ariel, played by singer Halle Bailey.
In the animated 1989 Disney movie, it was originally planned to feature a storyline that showed Triton and Ursula were siblings.
Related: The Little Mermaid cast, release date, plot and everything you need to know
However, the storyline was scrapped with just a hint left when Ursula explained: "In my day, we had fantastical feasts... when I lived in the palace."
The Broadway musical adaptation of the movie revived the storyline, revealing why the Sea Witch had been banished. It explained that the pair's father died and he planned for them to rule the sea together, leaving them an equal share and a magical item each.
Triton received a trident, while Ursula was left a magical shell. As her greed and jealousy grew, Ursula used dark magic to try to take over her brother, resulting in her being banished to her lair.
Related: Little Mermaid star responds to online backlash over her casting in live-action remake
It's currently unknown if this storyline will be used in the upcoming movie. Director Rob Marshall recently hinted his film will have some more songs in it that didn't feature in the original.
"We're working on, in a way, fleshing out The Little Mermaid – Ariel has one song in the animated film – and so we're looking for maybe more material," he explained.
The Little Mermaid recently added a number of new stars to the film, including Room star Jacob Tremblay. He will reportedly play a new version of Ariel's fish pal Flounder. Crazy Rich Asians star Awkafina is also rumoured to be joining as a gender-swapped version of seagull Scuttle.
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