Disney Finds Their ‘Little Mermaid’ Live-Action Princess In Halle Bailey

Disney casts Halle Bailey as Ariel in their live-action reboot of Little Mermaid. According to Variety, even though there was a lot of talent that showed their interest in the role and have met with director Rob Marshall, it was undeniably clear that Bailey has the upper hand from the start. “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 says of Bailey. 

Get To Know The Little Mermaid Live-Action Princess

Before we get high in and excited for our favorite mermaid princess reboot, let’s get to know more about Halle Bailey. This sweet looking Atlanta native is a 19-year-old singer who rose to fame by posting cover videos on Youtube together with her sister Chloe. The duo is signed under Beyonce’s label, Parkwood Entertainment, in 2013 after the Lemonade singer saw their cover of her track “Pretty Hurts.” Since then, the Bailey sisters released several songs like “Drop,” “Fall,” “Used To Love,” and “Too Much Sauce.” The Chloe x Halle duo’s biggest breakthrough and turn over was when Rolling Stone named their EP The Two Of Us as one of the best R&B albums of 2017. In 2018, Chloe X Halle released their debut album, titled “The Kids Are All Right.” The album was written and executive produced by the duo. It was eventually nominated for best urban contemporary album and best new artist at the 61st Grammy Awards. 

Aside from pursuing her music career, Bailey has also been enjoying a healthy acting career in Hollywood. In fact, she appeared and played several roles for Disney Channel’s Austin & Ally, Tyler Perry’s House of Payne, and in the Queen Latifah film Last Holiday released in 2006. Bailey is also a series regular in the Grown-ish as Sky Forster. 

Bailey joins Jacob Tremblay and Awkwafina in The Little Mermaid live-action adaptation, with the latter two actors being eyed to play Flounder and Scuttle. Melissa McCarthy is still in negotiations to play the villain Ursula. Marshall will be joined by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Marc Platt, and John Deluca as executive producers. The original composer, Alam Menken, and Miranda will write new songs for the remake and will incorporate original songs from the 1989 Little Mermaid. David Magee and Jane Goldman will serve as the lead writers. 

The Little Mermaid is set to start production in the early quarter of 2020.