Adrienne Bailon-Houghton reveals Solange Knowles was originally cast to portray Aqua in 'The Cheetah Girls'

During the ’00s, Disney connected with its audience through various shows and original films. In 2003, the company unveiled one of its greatest franchises yet: The Cheetah Girls. 

The iconic film starred Adrienne Bailon-Houghton, Kiely Williams, Sabrina Bryan, and Raven-Symoné as a teenage singing group ready for stardom. The movie was a huge success and spun two additional films — the third without Raven-Symoné. During a recent interview, Bailon-Houghton opened up about rebooting the franchise and revealed shocking news about The Cheetah Girls casting.

While on the “We Said What We Said With Rickey and Denzel” podcast, the actress stated Solange Knowles was originally part of the film. “I was told that the other girls that were chosen were Raven-Symoné as Galleria, Bryan as Dorinda, myself as Chanel, and Solange as Aqua,” Bailon-Houghton recalled.

Like the “Cranes in the Sky” singer, Aqua’s character was from Texas, which Bailon-Houghton thought made Solange perfect for the role. “[Aqua] has the Texas accent, the hot sauce,” the former 3LW member noted. “It was supposed to be Solange, and originally she was supposed to be the cast member, and at the last minute, for whatever reason, ended up not doing the film.”

The role went to Williams, who portrayed Aqua in all three trilogy movies. Recently, Bailon-Houghton shared that she is interested in doing a reboot of the franchise. To “E! News” in February, Raven-Symoné said she would team up with her 38-year-old former co-star for a Cheetah Girls project “in a heartbeat.”

“That’s why we did ‘Raven’s Home.’ That’s why we’re here,” the “No More” songstress told the entertainment outlet. “That’s why any time she’s doing something, I’m down, and I know she’s the same for me. And I think that there’s a wonderful thing to just encapsulate something and let it live. We are in the era of reboot, honey. We love a reboot. We hate when they ruin it.”

Raven-Symoné added, “And we can’t ruin The Cheetah Girls. They can’t ruin it. So if there was anything, and I’m trying to be honest, I’ll say this to your face. I’m not trying to act that much anymore. I want to direct. But if there was something that we did together, it would be us, and you would be surprised — it would smash.”

Trending Stories

• Studio Sessions | Ben Hogarth insists Jason Derulo is "a machine... I had to keep up with him"

• J. Cole takes a flight to England and supports Ari Lennox on her "age/sex/location Tour"

• Beyoncé seemingly teases a new hair-related project on the way