Some representation just became part of this world.
Disney has announced their choice for who will play Ariel in the live action remake of The Little Mermaid: it’s Halle Bailey, singer from the R&B duo group Chloe X Halle.
The casting of an African-American in the iconic role (of a caucasian redhead) is a pleasant surprise, and it opens the possibilities for roles yet to be cast, namely Prince Eric (many young male stars of various ethnicities will likley be considered) and King Triton (Broadway veteran Norm Lewis would be my pick, he played it on Broadway, but no doubt there’ll be a groundswell on social media for Idris Elba).
Bailey joins the already-announced choices of Melissa McCarthy as Ursula (perfect!), Jacob Tremblay as Ariel’s fish-buddy Flounder, and Awkwafina as the wacky seagull Scuttle.
The film will be helmed by Disney go-to musical director Rob Marshall (Mary Poppins Returns, Into the Woods), is produced by Marc Platt (Mary Poppins Returns, La La Land, and Broadway’s Wicked), with Lin-Manuel Miranda joining Alan Menken to update the songs and likely add new ones.
The Little Mermaid begins production in 2020, with a likely release date in 2021.
chloe x halle on Twitter
dream come true… 🧜🏽♀️🌊
Matthew A. Cherry 🏁 on Twitter
Black Twitter reacting to the news that Halle Bailey from the group ChloeXHalle was cast as Ariel in Disney’s Live Action Little Mermaid https://t.co/QiBEOG2awy