Saturday Night Live Quietly Referenced The Best Scarlett Johansson Musical That Was Never Made
Saturday Night Live's big 50th anniversary special quietly included a reference to a Scarlett Johansson musical that was never actually made. The special paid tribute to countless characters and comedians over the course of a three-hour run, including bringing many older characters back for new appearances. Some more popular recent recurring sketches were also given fresh installments for the occasion, such as Marcello Hernández's Domingo or John Mulaney's musical odes to New York City. It was in the latter that many former guest hosts appeared on stage, poking fun at the city as well as classic musical characters and songs.
It's a fun sketch that carries on Mulaney's tradition as a guest host, but it also lets one of the stars play a character that they almost brought to the big screen. Despite being attached to a full-scale movie remake of the musical, things fell apart behind the scenes. While it's a shame this brief appearance in Saturday Night Live's anniversary special will likely be the only time they get to play the character on-screen given the current status of that project, it's a subtle and effective way to highlight why that casting was so exciting in the first place.
SNL's 50th Anniversary Let Scarlett Johansson Reference Little Shop Of Horrors
Saturday Night Live Let Scarlett Johansson Finally Bring Her Audrey To The Screen
Saturday Night Live's 50th anniversary special cast Scarlett Johansson as a parody of Audrey from Little Shop of Horrors, a role the actress almost brought back to the big screen. One of the sketches during the special was a continuation of John Mulnaney's musical satirical love-letter to New York City, a running series of sketches whenever he's Saturday Night Live's guest host. At one point during the star-studded sketch, Mulaney reflects on how New York City feels like it's once again Skid Row. This prompted Johansson, dressed as Audrey, to appear and make a joke about her husband Colin Jost.
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Johansson then begins a performance of "Suddenly Seymour" but with the lyrics tweaked to be a warning about the deluge of e-bikes that are used throughout New York City. To complete the reference to Little Shop of Horrors, Johansson is then joined by Paul Rudd, who is wearing a costume usually seen on Seymour in the musical. It's far from the only musical referenced in the sequence, which also includes cameos from Lin Manuel-Miranda in a moment parodying both Hamilton and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. However, it also quietly references a movie that never got made.
Scarlett Johansson Was Going To Be In A Modern Little Shop Of Horrors
Plans For The Little Shop Of HorrorsRemake Fell Apart During The Pandemic
Penned by Alan Menken before he went on to write the songs for movies like The Little Mermaid and Beauty & the Beast, Little Shop of Horrors is a darkly comedic musical that was brought to the big screen in 1986. In 2020, it was announced that Warner Bros. would be moving forward with a new take on the material, with an impressive cast quickly amassed for the project. This included Scarlett Johansson, who was attached to play Audrey in the film. Audrey is an employee at Mr. Mushnik's flower shop and is dating an abusive dentist named Orin Scrivello.
Rumored Cast For The Canceled 2020 Little Shop Of Horrors Remake | Character |
Taron Egerton | Seymour Krelborn |
Scarlett Johansson | Audrey |
Billy Porter | Audrey II |
Chris Evans | Orin Scrivello |
While Audrey quietly pines for a happier life, the carnivorous plant Audrey II is able to use Seymour's love for her to push him down a dark path that quickly spirals out of control in the musical's second half. Johansson, who has plenty of experience as a singer on film and has released her own albums, clearly has the musical chops to play the role. Unfortunately, the Little Shop of Horrors remake was one of the many projects that fell apart because of the pandemic, with an entirely different approach to the franchise being brought currently helmed by Joe Dante.
Little Shop Of Horrors Already Had Some Big SNL Connections
Saturday Night Live And Little Shop Of Horrors Were Already Connected
This is notably not the first time Saturday Night Live and Little Shop of Horrors have connected in some way. The 1986 film featured frequent Saturday Night Live guest host Steve Martin as the comically cruel Orin Scrivello. Former Saturday Night Live cast member Bill Murry memorably appeared in the film as one of his patients, whose love for the sadist tendencies of the dentist quickly frustrates Scrivello. That film was directed by Frank Oz, who previously worked on Saturday Night Live as one of the muppet operators alongside Jim Henson for the "Land of Gorch" sketches in season 1.
It makes sense to include Little Shop of Horrors in the large-scale send-up of New York City, especially given that the story takes place in the harsher corners of that metropolis. Even previous iterations of Mulaney's New York City musical series reference Little Shop of Horrors, such as the second in the series that reimagined a dirty bodega toilet as Audrey II. However, casting Johansson as their version of Audrey does highlight the missed opportunity of having the actress actually play the character in a full film, and suggests that the sketch series also sees her potential for the role.
SNL 50 Teased How Good Scarlett Johansson's Audrey Could Be
Johansson Has The Skills To Bring Audrey To Life
Scarlett Johansson's Audrey in Saturday Night Live looks and sounds great, proving why she's a good pick for that role. The actress is able to affect the Brooklyn accent and sing within it, while still being capable to hit the high notes associated with the role. She's physically suited for the part, especially when wearing the comically large wig. Johansson also has the comedic timing and dramatic chops to make the deceptively tricky character compelling. A modern take on Little Shop of Horrors is an exciting prospect, and there's no reason to doubt that Joe Dante's version of the material could be great.
Even if audiences never get to see Scarlett Johansson's version of Little Shop of Horrors, it is nice to see that Saturday Night Live also wanted to cast her as Audrey.
However, while it may be a single scene in a sketch instead of an entire film, Scarlett Johansson's brief stint as Audrey highlights how good she is in the role. She has the singing skills, acting talent, and experience to bring the role to the big screen in a compelling way. Especially given the co-stars she was set to appear alongside, it could have been a really fun adaptation. Even if audiences never get to see Scarlett Johansson's version of Little Shop of Horrors, it is nice to see that Saturday Night Live also wanted to cast her as Audrey.
- Showrunner
- Lorne Michaels
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