Susan Egan has her picks for who should play Hercules and Megara in a live-action adaptation of Disney’s Hercules: Tom Holland and Zendaya.
Egan, who voiced Meg in the 1997 animated film, suggested the couple for the roles while speaking to Deadline at D23.
Asked who she would like to see take on Hercules and Meg, Egan named Holland and Zendaya. “Tom Holland and Zendaya, the world needs it.”
Egan also pointed to Zendaya’s confidence, voice and presence as qualities that would make her suited to Meg. She said her choice was not simply because Holland and Zendaya are the “it” couple, adding that she had watched Zendaya’s career since she was a teenager.
“She is a strong woman, obviously, statuesque and amazing, with an incredible voice and a little edge, don’t you think?” Egan said.
Holland and Zendaya have already spent years sharing the screen as Peter Parker and MJ in the Spider-Man films. Casting them as Hercules and Meg would put the real-life couple at the centre of another on-screen romance, this time as the demigod and the woman he falls for.
Disney has been developing a live-action take on Hercules for several years, though details about the project, including who could step into its leading roles, have remained limited.
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Egan’s connection to Hercules dates back nearly three decades. She voiced Megara opposite Tate Donovan’s Hercules in the 1997 animated film and has remained closely associated with the character and her signature song, I Won’t Say I’m in Love.
Speaking with People last year, Egan recalled that she was still playing Belle in the Broadway production of Beauty and the Beast when she was cast as Meg, two characters she described as “so opposite”.
“Belle is so kindhearted, generous, saves her father’s life. Meg is jaded and sarcastic,” she said.
Egan also joked that a “series of bad boyfriends” had left her “primed” to play Meg, adding that the character ultimately felt much closer to her own personality.
“When the movie came out, my friends who saw the movie said, ‘It’s the first time you played a character where we recognized you in the role,’” she said. “Belle was when I was acting, Meg is right where I live.”
The original Hercules also featured James Woods as Hades and Danny DeVito as Phil.
Egan, who originated the role of Belle in Disney’s Broadway production of Beauty and the Beast, is being honoured as a Disney Legend this year.
Nearly 30 years after Hercules was released, she now has a clear idea of who she would like to see take on its central roles, with Zendaya as Meg and Holland as Hercules.
Source: Khaleej Times