As much as I love the format, there are few genres that are more divisive or inconsistent than that of the movie musical. For every crowning achievement, like Wicked, there’s a disaster like Cats. It’s certainly a format that garners a lot of opinions, but there are few stage-to-screen adaptations more loved than Little Shop of Horrors. Based on the 1960 film, The Little Shop of Horrors, and the beloved stage musical, Little Shop is a cult classic that continues to gain popularity year after year, with a star-studded Off-Broadway revival currently drawing names like Sarah Hyland and Jinkx Monsoon into its cast. However, we almost got another tinseled reimagining of the musical in the way of a big-budget remake. Originally set to reunite two MCU greats and include some of the most dynamic talent in Hollywood, the movie was going to be a massive event, until it was gobbled up in development. Unfortunately, audiences lost out on something that truly would have been special.
‘Little Shop of Horrors’ Would Have Had a Star-Studded Cast
I don’t think it’s possible to overstate just how impressive the casting was for the proposed Little Shop of Horrors remake. Even early into its development, both confirmations and rumors proved that the film was eyeing a spectacular cast. In February 2020, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that actor Chris Evans was in talks to join the remake as the evil dentist, Orin Scrivello. Right off the bat, this casting news was incredibly exciting to me. Casting someone like Evans in the role was an exciting departure from Steve Martin’s iconic performance. And if this casting seems a bit jarring at first, I’d like to point out just how dedicated Evans was to playing the part. In 2024, Evans even lamented to People Magazine about his everlasting desire to do a movie musical. “I’m waiting to do an actual musical film. I want to sing,” said the actor. “[And] dance. That is what I want.” He continued: “I mean, that’s tough though, because that’s something you got to do right. You only get so many bites at that apple… But knowing that I’m very precious with it and I want to make sure it’s the right thing. So yeah, that’s always in the works.” The fact that we didn’t get to see his dedication manifest is hard enough, but it’s made even worse when one considers the fact Little Shop is actually his favorite musical!
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As if that wasn’t enough to tug at my musical-loving heartstrings, THR reported that he was set to be reunited with his MCU costar, Scarlett Johansson. The actress was supposed to take on the role of Audrey, putting the actors in opposite roles, the likes of which we have never seen from them before. While Orin is truly awful to Audrey, the dynamic would have been an intricate and fascinating one to watch from the well-known friends. Of course, Little Shop has a large cast, and the remaining characters were to feature even more big names. Taron Egerton was tapped to play Johansson’s love interest, Seymour (per THR), and for the infamous, bloodthirsty plant, Audrey II? None other than Billy Porter. I can’t think of more perfect casting for the part of Audrey II than Porter. His iconic voice and brash sense of humor were truly inspired, and I can’t believe we’ve missed out on such an opportunity. So, how did a project with so much promise vanish?
‘Little Shop of Horrors’ Ended Up Fizzling Out
Like many productions from the time, the then-novel COVID-19 virus and the pandemic caused Little Shop of Horrors to stall just as it was gaining steam. From box office flops to promising productions falling into obscurity, our beloved Little Shop remake was one of the worst victims. As stated by Gay Times, the picture’s stellar progress was quickly halted in 2020 due to the pandemic, but many of us assumed that the remake would get back underway once Hollywood returned to production. But when the industry did pick back up, news on the remake was scarce. After a year, the dreaded news came that the movie had been canceled. “I just don’t get it,” Egerton said. “There was so much goodwill around it, but it just fizzled out. Who knows if it will come back, but I can’t help but feel that it just might not.” It was truly a devastating development for all of us who were so enthusiastic about the picture, but now, five years later, it seems to be truly out of development. Indeed, it seemed the 1980s re-adaptation would be the closest we got to seeing the musical on the big screen… or is it?
‘SNL’ Gave Us a Glimpse of Johansson’s Audrey
Saturday Night Live’s 50th anniversary special gave us some incredible moments, but for me, it was Johansson’s cameo that really stood out. In a particularly star-studded sketch that featured John Mulaney and Adam Driver, Johansson made an appearance, parodying none other than Audrey, even singing a “Suddenly Seymour” spoof. Johansson gets completely into the character. It’s such a joy to see her Audrey come to life, even for a few seconds. However, it also serves as a firm reminder of what we lost with the remake being canceled. Interestingly, though, this isn’t the end of Little Shop’s big screen future, as the announcement of the creator of the original film, Roger Corman, will oversee a new project titled Little Shop of Halloween Horrors. That being said, it’s hard not to grieve the impressive remake that never was.
Little Shop of Horrors remains a cult classic. It is truly one of the best stage-to-screen adaptations ever made, but the Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson remake was truly going to be something special. Not only was it a dream project for Evans, but it would also have given us an all-around amazing cast. We will never know exactly what we lost, but it was definitely a movie musical for the ages.
