Lifetime has found its Aaliyah.
Disney Channel star Zendaya (Shake It Up!) will portray the R&B singer, who died in a plane crash in 2001 at the age of 22, in the network’s upcoming original movie.
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Zendaya will record four of Aaliyah’s songs for the film, which will premiere this fall.
Ready for more of today’s newsy nuggets? Well…
* Disney’s Hollywood Studios will shut down its American Idol Experience attraction in Jan. 2015, the Orlando Sentential reports.
* The Young and the Restless and Days of Our Lives actress Eileen Davidson has signed a contract with the former show, Soap Opera Digest reports. Her Y&R episodes will begin airing in early September, while her 12-week story arc on Days continues to play out.
* Adan Canto (Mixology, The Following) has joined the cast of Amazon’s drama pilot Hysteria, starring Mena Suvari and T.R. Knight, per The Hollywood Reporter.
* Marvel’s Ultimate Spider-Man: Web Warriors will premiere Sunday, Aug. 31 at 9 am on Disney XD.
* Cinemax has unveiled a trailer for its new original series The Knick, starring Clive Owen and directed by Steven Soderbergh. Debuting Aug. 8, the 1900-set drama centers on Knickerbocker Hospital and the groundbreaking surgeons, nurses and staff, who push the bounds of medicine.
