Disney Casts Halle Bailey as Ariel in THE LITTLE MERMAID

R&B singer Halle Bailey of Chloe x Halle has been cast in the lead role of Ariel in Disney’s live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid.

Director Rob Marshall (Mary Poppins Returns) has been meeting with young talent for months, but according to Variety, “Bailey has been a clear frontrunner from the beginning.” Marshall had this to say about the casting in a statement:

“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.”

I am not familiar with Bailey, so I can’t really say if she’s a good choice for the role or not. Marshall obviously had a vision for the character, though, in his film and he found it in Bailey.

This is her first movie role, and there’s no doubt that this is a super exciting moment for her! This is a huge gig, and it’s sure to launch her career into a whole new stratosphere. I wish her the best as she embarks on this journey of playing Ariel. it’ll be interesting to see how she ends up bringing the character to life.

Bailey is joining a the previously cast Jacob Tremblay and Awkwafina, while Melissa McCarthy is still in talks to play the sea witch Ursula.

According to a previous report, the creative team is looking to make “contemporary and compelling casting choices, while still paying homage to the beloved animated original.” The film will also incorporate the original songs from the original movie as well as new music from Alan Menken and Lin-Manuel Miranda.

The story follows a mermaid princess who wants to meet and hook up with human prince on land. To get there, she trades her beautiful voice in for a pair of human legs and has to get the prince to fall in love with her in a certain amount of time or the sea witch will collect her unfortunate soul.