A recent article by The Hollywood Reporter says that Chris Evans (Knives Out) is in talks to appear in the remake of the horror musical Little Shop of Horrors. This project was first announced by Warner Bros. back in 2016 with TV veteran Greg Berlanti attached to direct. However, for the next three years, the studio was silent and Berlanti continued producing superhero TV shows for The CW. Now, Warner Bros. is discussing the possibility of Evans portraying one of the film’s villains – sadistic dentist Orin Scrivello. Additionally, the studio is in talks with Taron Egerton (Rocketman) for the role of the film’s protagonist Seymour Krelborn. Scarlet Johansson (Avengers: Endgame) might portray Scrivello’s abused girlfriend Aubrey. Billy Porter (American Horror Story: Apocalypse) has already signed on to voice the monstrous alien plant Aubrey II.
Directed by Frank Oz in 1982, Little Shop of Horrors is an adaptation of the off-Broadway musical by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken. That musical was, in turn, based on Roger Corman’s 1960 horror-comedy of the same title. They all tell a story of a nerdy florist Seymour (played superbly in the 1982 film by Rick Moranis) who inadvertently discovers an unusual plant (voiced by Levi Stubbs) and names it Aubrey II. The alien plant promises Seymour fame, money and most of all, love of his co-worker Aubrey (Ellen Greene – Pushing Daisies). In exchange, he has to feed people to the plant. Over the decades, the musical and its Frank Oz-helmed adaptation became cult classics.