Billy Porter Is Super Excited About Voicing Audrey II In Little Shop Of Horrors

I’m not a fan of musicals, as characters randomly bursting into cheesy songs and warbling about their feelings just isn’t my bag. But there’s one big exception: Little Shop of Horrors. I haven’t seen the 1960 Roger Corman original, but the 1986 version starring Rick Moranis, Ellen Green, Levi Stubbs, Steve Martin and Bill Murray is an awesome movie.

If you’re not familiar with the premise, Little Shop of Horrors is about a nerdy guy named Seymour who finds himself caring for a carnivorous alien plant. The plant – named Audrey II – grows bigger, hungrier and begins to talk, with Seymour having to kill people to keep it happy. But who to kill? Well, the neighborhood is populated by a bunch of assholes who sure look like plant food to me (great, now the song’s stuck in my head…)

The 1986 film is a classic, but there’s a remake coming relatively soon. Greg Berlanti is in the director’s chair, with Taron Egerton rumored for Seymour, Scarlett Johansson for love interest Audrey and Chris Evans playing the sinister and sadistic dentist. They’re all in negotiations, though one cast member is locked in: The Get Down, Pose and American Horror Story‘s Billy Porter, who’ll be voicing the killer plant.

Recently, Porter spoke with Collider about Little Shop of Horrors, explaining his connections to it:

“This was one of the musicals that is from my generation, from the 80s, so I’ve known it, the songs have been my audition songs for years. And I was also in the out-of-town revival tryout before it went to Broadway back in 2002, and I got let go from that so I’ve already played the voice of the plant. And I just approached it from the standpoint of what it truly is; it’s kind of like the Faustian story. It’s kind of like the devil story. Like, ‘Sell your soul to me and I’ll give you everything you want.’ He’s a villain! And I don’t get to play villains very often, so get ready because he’s gonna be everything. All of the things! I’m gonna use all of the different ranges of the voice!”

Sounds awesome. Naturally, COVID-19 related complications have meant that the start of production has been delayed, so I’d expect Little Shop of Horrors to shoot sometime in the Fall for a late 2021 release. More on this as and when we hear it.