Halle Bailey has been cast as accomplished swimmer/princess Ariel in Disney’s upcoming live-action tentpole remake ofThe Little Mermaid, which is slated to begin production in 2020.
The 19-year-old singer and actress, who stars on Freeform’sgrown-ish, is best known as one half (guess which one) of Chloe x Halle, the R&B duo act she shares with her younger sister Chloe.
The pair are also frequently referred to in the music sphere as “Beyonce’s proteges,” having caughtBeyonce’s attention and a record deal after their YouTube cover of “Pretty Hurts” went viral in 2013; they’ve since opened for Bey and Jay-Z’s On The Road II tour.
Lester Cohen/Getty Images; Everett Collection
Director Rob Marshall, who will helmThe Little Mermaidas his first project afterMary Poppins Returns, said of the casting: “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.”
On the topic ofMermaiditself, Marshall told EW in December, “It’s about a woman finding her voice a girl finding her voice, actually and that immediately just felt like an interesting, timely piece that resonated with us.”
In signing the parchment, Bailey now leads an already-stacked cast that is rumored to includeMelissa McCarthy as sea witch Ursula,Jacob Tremblay as Flounder, andAwkwafina as Scuttle.
As with most recent films on Disney’s slate of live-action remakes, the newMermaidwill include the game-changing 1989 animated film’s original classic songs from Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, as well as new tunes written byMenken with lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda(who is such a fan of the original film that he named his own son Sebastian).
The film will be produced by Miranda and the continued musical wonder-team of Marshall, John DeLuca, and Marc Platt.
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