‘The Little Mermaid’: First Look At Star Halle Bailey As Ariel In Disney’s Live-Action Adaptation

Disney has so many live-action movies in the works it can be hard to keep up. The Little Mermaid has been in the works longer than most, largely because of delays caused by the pandemic. But filming is now completed on the fairy tale remake, and star Halle Bailey has dropped the first image of herself as Ariel.

The casting of Bailey in her first major lead role was controversial to say the least, and you can probably guess it had nothing to do with her being a singer.

She’s joined in the cast by Jonah-Hauer King as Prince Eric, Jacob Tremblay as the voice of Flounder, Daveed Diggs voicing Sebastian, and Awkwafina as the voice of Scuttle. Melissa McCarthy plays Ursula the evil sea witch, with Javier Bardem as King Triton, Jude Akuwudike as Grimsby, and Noma Dumezweni as Carlotta.

Rob Marshall will direct, making this his third Disney film behind Into the Woods and Mary Poppins Returns. Lin-Manuel Miranda will join Alan Menken in composing new songs, while favorites from the animated classic will also be used.

 

Travis Hopson has been reviewing movies before he even knew there was such a thing. Having grown up on a combination of bad '80s movies, pro wrestling, comic books, and hip-hop, Travis is uniquely positioned to geek out on just about everything under the sun. A vampire who walks during the day and refuses to sleep, Travis is the co-creator and lead writer for Punch Drunk Critics. He is also a contributor to Good Morning Washington, WBAL Morning News, and WETA Around Town. In the five minutes a day he's not working, Travis is also a voice actor, podcaster, and Twitch gamer. Travis is a voting member of the Critics Choice Association (CCA), Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA), and Late Night programmer for the Lakefront Film Festival.