After a lengthy search, Disney has chosen its Ariel for the upcoming Little Mermaid live-action remake. Say hello to Halle Bailey.
Disney has announced that grown-ish star Halle Bailey will be playing Ariel. Best known for being discovered by Beyonce when she and her sister Chloe were singing covers of the star’s songs on YouTube, they went on to form a group called Chloe x Halle in 2015. The sisters now co-star on Freeform’s grown-ish.
“After an extensive search, it was abundantly clear that Halle possesses that rare combination of spirit, heart, youth, innocence, and substance — plus a glorious singing voice — all intrinsic qualities necessary to play this iconic role,” Marshall said in a statement.
Jacob Tremblay and Awkwafina are already signed to the project, and Melissa McCarty is in talks to play Ursula.
The live-action Little Mermaid will include songs from the 1989 original as well as new songs by Alan Menken and Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton, Mary Poppins Returns).
No word yet on a release date for The Little Mermaid, but it is reportedly a high priority for Disney.
