I’m Pissed We Never Got Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson’s Remake of a Beloved Horror-Comedy Musical
As much as I love the format, few genres 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.
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, 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 his favorite musical!