'The Little Mermaid' Live-Action Remake Wants Harry Styles As Prince Eric
Disney's live-action Little Mermaid remake may have just found its Prince Eric. Harry Styles, the One Direction artist who made his acting debut in Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk, is in talks to join Halle Bailey in the Rob Marshall-directed update. Melissa McCarthy is also in talks to play the evil Ursula, and Jacob Tremblay and Awkwafina are likely to lend their voices to some supporting animals.
Collider is reporting that Harry Styles is in talks to join The Little Mermaid cast. Styles would play Prince Eric, the human with whom mermaid Ariel (Halle Bailey) falls in love. Mary Poppins Returns director Rob Marshall is helming this new Mermaid, and producing with John DeLuca, Marc Platt, and Lin-Manuel Miranda. This remake is set to feature songs from the animated original by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, as well as new songs by Menken (music) and Miranda (lyrics).
Styles was among the list of names auditioning to play Elvis in Baz Luhrmann's biopic, but lost the part to Austin Butler. Styles will just have to make due with appearing in a huge Disney movie instead. My guess is he's fine with that. If Styles signs on, almost all the major characters will be cast. Bailey is Ariel, Melissa McCarthy is likely to be the villain Ursula, Jacob Tremblay will voice Ariel's fish pal Flounder, and Awkwafina is going to lend her voice to Scuttle the seagull. The two remaining big parts: Ariel's father King Triton, and Sebastian the crab. Start your fan-casting now!
In the original The Little Mermaid, "rebellious 16-year-old mermaid Ariel is fascinated with life on land. On one of her visits to the surface, which are forbidden by her controlling father, King Triton, she falls for a human prince. Determined to be with her new love, Ariel makes a dangerous deal with the sea witch Ursula to become human for three days. But when plans go awry for the star-crossed lovers, the king must make the ultimate sacrifice for his daughter."
The Little Mermaid joins an ever-growing list of live-action Disney remakes. This year we've already had Dumbo and Aladdin, and a much-anticipated not-really-live-action remake of The Lion King is opening this week. The underwater element to Mermaid means you can expect a ton of CGI all over this film, which begs the question: why remake it at all? The answer, of course, is money. But maybe the movie will turn out to be good, too.The Little Mermaid is expected to start shooting in 2020.