After announcing that stars Melissa McCarthy, Jacob Tremblay and Awkwafina are all in talks to swim with the fishes for Disney's live-action re-imagining of THE LITTLE MERMAID, word has bubbled to the surface that R&B singer Halle Bailey will venture under the sea as Ariel, the mermaid princess who makes a Faustian bargain with the evil sea witch Ursula for the chance to walk upon the surface while in search of true love.
The film is directed by Rob Marshall, who will also produce alongside John DeLuca, Marc Platt and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Loosely based on the Danish fairy tale of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen, Rob Marshall's live-action version will include beloved songs from directors Ron Clements and John Musker's 1989 original animation as well as new jams from Alan Menken and Lin-Manuel Miranda that are bound to sent waves rippling through the Disney musical community. Meanwhile, David Magee will pen the script with Jessica Virtue and Allison Erlikhman overseeing for Disney.
“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.
THE LITTLE MERMAID role marks Bailey's feature film debut, following her participation in the R&B outfit Chloe x Halle. Bailey is one half of the smooth grooves duo, a role that she shares with her sister Chloe. The sing-song siblings rose to fame via YouTube after their covers of Beyonce songs went viral.
Not to be confused with Academy Award-winning actress Halle Berry, Bailey's established singing chops should serve her well when belting out confessions of how Ariel adores collecting thingamabobs, whozits and whatzits galore. The move to cast an unknown will likely be seen as a bold move by Disney, who in recent times has done much to diversify their castings of major roles in upcoming films.