The sea is apparently having a very gay week. Hayley Kiyoko wants to make a lesbian Pirates of the Caribbean, complete with “Keira Knightley, but gay,” while Ursula’s own history is getting another look thanks to a story that could completely change how we see the Little Mermaid sea witch. And then there’s the delicious rumor that Jennifer Coolidge could be the one bringing Ursula to life.
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One story gives us sapphic pirates. The other gives us a sea witch with family drama, royal ambitions and enough baggage to fill a very large underwater palace. Frankly, the ocean is delivering.
Hayley Kiyoko Has a Very Gay Pirate Dream
Kiyoko revealed her dream project during a “Saving Queer Media” panel at UTA in Beverly Hills, alongside filmmakers Angela Robinson, Adam Shankman and Wash Westmoreland.
When asked about the kind of project she’d love to make, Kiyoko didn’t exactly reach for something small.
“I would love to do a lesbian pirate show or movie — Keira Knightley, but gay,” she said. “Very gay and fantastical.”
Honestly, the pitch sells itself.
Swords, ships, forbidden romance, dramatic costumes and questionable decisions at sea already sound like a good time. Now add Kiyoko’s version of a sapphic adventure and suddenly Hollywood has a treasure chest it has been ignoring.
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The panel was hosted by UTA Proud and served as a fundraiser for Outfest, the Los Angeles-based LGBTQ+ film festival.
Kiyoko Is Already Building Her Sapphic Screen Universe
The pirate idea also makes sense coming from Kiyoko, who made her directorial debut earlier this year with Girls Like Girls, the YA romance based on her novel and song of the same name.
She previously tried to get the film made from the song alone, but financing didn’t come through until after she wrote the novel and it became a bestseller. Now she’s hoping to adapt her second novel, Where There’s Room for Us, for the screen.
“It’s a period piece, which no one wants to pay for, but they will one day,” she said to cheers and applause.
So yes, Kiyoko already has another period project waiting in the wings. But apparently her dream cinematic future also includes pirates. And lesbians. Lots of lesbians, presumably.
Meanwhile, Ursula Has More History Than You Might Remember
While Kiyoko is dreaming about taking sapphic romance onto the high seas, Ursula has her own complicated history with the underwater royal family.
Ursula and King Triton are siblings in Disney’s 2023 live-action The Little Mermaid, making Ursula Ariel’s aunt. The film makes that relationship explicit, with Ursula referring to Triton as her brother.
Her connection to the royal family also isn’t exactly a brand-new idea. Ursula has long referred to having lived in Triton’s palace before being banished, while later versions of The Little Mermaid expanded on the relationship between the two. And that’s where things get particularly interesting.
In the story being discussed, Ursula wasn’t simply some random sea witch who appeared one day to ruin Ariel’s life. Her past is tied directly to Triton, the throne and the power of the underwater kingdom.
The story suggests Triton feared his more charismatic and beloved sister could eventually take the throne. Ursula, meanwhile, is presented as someone with her own ambitions for the underwater world — including the idea of bringing the human and underwater kingdoms together. Then there’s the Trident.
Ursula used her magic to create the powerful weapon as part of that vision. Triton then deceived her, took the throne and claimed the Trident before banishing his own sister. Suddenly, Ursula’s obsession with the Trident feels a little more personal.
So Maybe Ursula Was Never Quite That Simple
Go back to The Little Mermaid with that history in mind and some of Ursula’s behavior takes on another flavor. When she eventually gets her hands on the Trident, she doesn’t exactly look like someone encountering an unfamiliar magical object for the first time.
If her past involved creating or wielding that power, her desire to get the Trident back isn’t simply about taking control of Triton’s kingdom. It becomes part of a much older family feud.
Of course, different Little Mermaid adaptations have handled Ursula’s history differently, so it’s worth separating established elements from the expanded versions of her backstory.
But the basic family drama remains wonderfully juicy: Ursula and Triton aren’t merely hero and villain. They’re siblings who ended up on opposite sides of the underwater kingdom.
And Then There’s Jennifer Coolidge at Sea
Now for the part that needs a little more sea salt. The claim that Jennifer Coolidge could play Ursula in a potential project exploring the character’s past is a rumor, not a confirmed Disney casting announcement. Still, the idea is almost suspiciously easy to imagine.
@.cartoon.district Some villains are simply impossible to forget. 🐙✨ The voice, the attitude, the drama Ursula was born to steal every scene. The Little Mermaid (1989) 🌊 #ursula #thelittlemermaid #disney #olddisney #tiktokgrowthchallenge
Coolidge already has the kind of larger-than-life comedic timing that could make Ursula’s theatrical personality very, very fun. Put her in a dramatic underwater palace with royal family trauma and a Trident to reclaim, and suddenly the casting rumor becomes the kind of thing people would happily spend hours discussing.
For now, though, it’s just that: a rumor.
Give Us the Gay Pirates and Let Ursula Keep Her Secrets
Kiyoko’s lesbian pirate movie and Ursula’s complicated history aren’t connected, but they do share one delicious idea: familiar worlds can still have stories we haven’t fully explored.
Kiyoko wants to take the pirate adventure somewhere explicitly sapphic. Ursula’s story digs deeper into a character who has always seemed to have considerably more going on beneath the tentacles.
One is a filmmaker publicly pitching her dream project. The other is a sea-witch story with a rumored casting twist.
Either way, Hollywood has spent enough time sailing straight. Maybe it’s finally time to let the lesbians take the ship. And if Ursula wants to come along, we’re certainly not stopping her.
Source: Variety