Susan Egan jokes Zendaya may 'need a restraining order against' her over Hercules casting campaign
Susan Egan joked that Zendaya and Tom Holland may "need a restraining order against" her over the star's relentless campaign for the actress to play Meg in Disney's live-action Hercules.
Susan Egan joked Zendaya may "need a restraining order against" her over the star's relentless campaign for the actress to play Meg in Disney's live-action Hercules.
The 56-year-old actress, who voiced the character in the 1997 animated classic, has been particularly vocal about wanting the 29-year-old star to take on her role in Guy Ritchie and Joe and Anthony Russo's reboot, which was announced in 2020 but has yet to have any actors attached.
Egan joked to People: "Zendaya and her husband [Tom Holland] might be like, 'Honestly, maybe we need a restraining order against Susan Egan at this point. Yeah, she’s a little too enthusiastic.'
"But I do love her, and I have since she was younger. She’s always been such a dynamic performer. She’s such a grounded woman, and I really am an admirer of hers."
Hercules followed the son of the Greek god, Zeus (Rip Torn), as he discovers his heritage and trains to become a hero, with Meg becoming the titular character's (James Woods') love interest.
Egan loved playing the sassy and mischievous Meg because the role was completely different from her usual characters.
She explained: "In real life, I always played the good girl. But in animation, I got to play the sassy girl, the girl who made mistakes, the one who gets all the one-liners.
"[Meg] gets to manipulate Herc and Hades. That was something I never got to do, so that was so fun."
Egan - who played Belle in the Broadway production of Beauty and the Beast from 1994 until 1995 - feels "so blessed" to continue performing Disney songs that have been a big part of her life on the entertainment brand's cruises and its special events.
She said: "I feel so blessed and lucky to sing anything from Hercules and Beauty and the Beast. I will sing for the rest of my life until they get a hook and they pull me off that stage. That music is magical.
"[Disney composer] Alan Menken changed my life. I will forever be grateful and I will keep going.
"The music is endless. The music is core to who we are. These songs have underscored our lives, and with every new generation, there’s a new generation to fall in love with them and to find the princess that they relate to the most."
In 2022, Joe, 55, said Disney's live-action Hercules will be inspired by TikTok.
Speaking to Variety, he said: "There are questions about how you translate it as a musical.
"Audiences today have been trained by TikTok, right? What is their expectation of what that musical looks like and feels like?
"That can be a lot of fun and help us push the boundaries a little bit on how you execute a modern musical."
Although some of Disney's recent live action remakes have been criticised for being too close to the originals, Joe has insisted that will not be the case, with Hercules promising to be "a little bit more experimental in tone, a little bit more experimental in execution".
He added: "I think they’re excited to see what we can all bring to it in a way that isn’t just a reinterpretation of the animated film."
Ritchie, 57, is working on his own take on the screenplay by David Callaham, 48, and Joe insisted the Aladdin filmmaker is "perfect for it because he has penchant for experimentation", while Joe and Anthony, 56, are looking to build on their longtime partnership with Disney, who own the Marvel franchise.
He said: "We have an amazing relationship with them that we’ve built over a decade.
"I think we have a point of view on how they can stretch the limits of their IP moving forward, rather than playing IP management."
An expected release date for the live-action Hercules is yet to be announced.
