'Pose' Star Billy Porter Might Play the Fairy Godmother to Camila Cabello's Cinderella in a Remake
Updated April 14 2020, 3:29 p.m. ET
There's a huge recent trend to remake classic Disney movies into live action ones (ahem, The Lion King, Mulan, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin to name a few), and Sony is getting in on the success. Though Cinderella was given a live action rendering in 2015 starring Lily James and Richard Madden, Sony is set to give the story a modern retelling with some incredibly famous names.
Camila Cabello is set to star in Cinderella as the titular role, and there are rumors that Pose star Billy Porter — who recently won an Emmy for his work on the show — will also be taking on an iconic character. Is Billy Porter the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella? Details on the casting rumors that are circulating and why Billy taking on the role would be so groundbreaking.
Is Billy Porter the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella?
Though Sony won't confirm or deny any casting news aside from Camila, Deadline reported that Billy is in serious talks to play the Fairy Godmother in the new adaptation. Past actresses who played the Fairy Godmother include Helena Bonham Carter and Whitney Houston. Because Billy got his start on Broadway (and won a Tony award for Kinky Boots), it's clear that he would have the singing chops needed for the role.
Billy's role would make history, as he'd be the first Fairy Godmother in a Cinderella movie that is not played by a woman. Many fans took to social media to voice their support for the openly gay actor to take on the role.
Interestingly, Billy himself retweeted The Hollywood Reporter's tweet about the Cinderella casting rumors, which might be the closest thing to a confirmation that we'll be getting for a while.
After winning his Emmy for Pose, Billy has certainly caught the eyes of many Hollywood filmmakers. In addition to reportedly being offered the role of the Fairy Godmother, Billy is also, according to Collider, being considered for the voice role of Audrey II, a man-eating plant in The Little Shop of Horrors remake. The Warner Bros. remake is also in talks, apparently, with Lady Gaga.
It's important to note that the rumors are just rumors at this point.
What else do we know about the Cinderella remake?
In addition to starring as the iconic servant-turned-princess in Cinderella, Camila Cabello will also provide the music in the film. The movie will also differ from other editions of the story because it will be a full-on musical.
Kay Cannon — who directed the comedy Blockers — will also be directing the movie and writing the script. The movie will certainly be comedic too, as the idea for it came from The Late Late Show host James Corden. The comedian is also set be one of the producers on the film as well.
Though filming for Cinderella obviously has yet to start, the movie is slated for a February of 2021 release date. Perhaps we'll be seeing Billy Porter's modern take on "Bippity Boppity Boo."