Disney’s upcoming live-action movie for The Little Mermaid is about to be part of our world very soon! The film, which is set to release on May 26, 2023, stars Halle Bailey, Melissa McCarthy and Jacob Tremblay! Keep reading for everything we know about The Little Mermaid!
The Little Mermaid is directed by Rob Marshall (Mary Poppins Returns) from a screenplay by Jane Goldman and David Magee and is produced by Walt Disney Pictures. Just like the 1989 animated original, the movie will tell the story of a young mermaid who makes a deal with Ursula the sea witch to trade her voice for legs to win the love of a human prince.
The cast of the live-action movie includes Halle Bailey as Ariel, Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric, Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, Jacob Tremblay as Flounder, Daveed Diggs as Sebastian, Awkwafina as Scuttle and Javier Bardem as Prince Titus!
“Getting that role felt very surreal. It was much of a shocker for me,” Halle said on the Facebook Watch series Talks With Mama Tina in December 2021. “Even when I was asked to audition, I looked at it and I was like me? For Ariel? That just doesn’t … ‘Cause you know, my image of Ariel that I’ve had is the red hair, the pale skin, and the tail, and she was amazing to me. I loved her, like we all did. But that’s what I’ve seen her as for so long.”
She continued, “So, even the auditioning process, I remember being so scared and so nervous. I think my dad, he one time was like, ‘Let’s run through the lines.’ And I started reading them and I just started sobbing. He’s like, ‘Halle, what’s wrong? What’s wrong?’ I’m just, ‘I can’t believe I’m even gonna go for this.’ But [I’m] so grateful that I kind of get to reinvent Ariel and show other young, beautiful Black and Brown children that hey, you can be this too. You are magical and mythical and all of the wonderful things in between as well.”
Scroll through our gallery for everything we know about the upcoming live-action movie for The Little Mermaid.
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