Love it or hate it, Disney seems to have a thing for taking iconic ’90s movies and making them live action. Not that we’re at all mad at it! Next up? A remake of the 1989 film The Little Mermaid.
In case you somehow forgot the plot, it’s the one where mermaid Princess Ariel trades her voice for a pair of legs in order to woo the gorge Prince Eric. But this version will be directed by Rob Marshall, who also directed 2018’s Mary Poppins Returns…and the cast will obviously feature real-life human beings. If you’re more excited for this movie than Ariel was to find that old fork, here’s what you need to know.
GOOD NEWS: DISNEY HAS *FINALLY* DROPPED A TRAILER FOR THE LITTLE MERMAID
After what has felt like a literal eternity (see below for just how long it's been since this movie finished filming), Disney has *finally* gifted the world with the first trailer for its upcoming live-action remake of The Little Mermaid. Spoiler alert: It's absolutely glorious.
The trailer has a lot going for it—a look at what the CGI version of Ariel's underwater world looks like, full visuals of Halle Bailey as Ariel, complete with mermaid tail, and, ofc, a clip of her singing the OG movie's iconic song, "Part of Your World."
Watch it for yourself immediately, plz:
THE LITTLE MERMAID WRAPPED FILMING IN JULY 2021
Halle posted a picture-perfect goodbye on her Twitter account while revealing that filming is officially done. “And just like that…that’s a wrap after auditioning for this film when I was 18 just about to turn 19, to now finishing filming through a pandemic when I turned 21,” she wrote. “We have finally made it…I feel so grateful to have experienced this film in all of its glory.”
The pandemic originally impacted film production, but in January 2021, Javier Bardem told El Tiempo that filming was back underway. With COVID-19 precautions in place, Javier assured fans it was a safe journey under the sea.
WHO’S IN IT?
It’s probably safe to say this version will include tons of CGI, but regardless, the cast is fabulous. In true Disney fashion, some of these names will definitely surprise you in the best of ways.
Halle Bailey as Ariel
Halle Bailey has been cast as Ariel!! You may recognize her as Sky from Grown-ish or from her pop duo Chloe x Halle with her sis Chloe Bailey or from the intense Twitter casting discussion. Can we all just appreciate the cute artwork of her as the underwater Disney princess?
We stan.
Awkwafina as Scuttle
Putting the “fin” in Awkwafina, the Crazy Rich Asians and Ocean’s Eight actor will be part of this seaside story as Scuttle the seagull. The part in the original animated movie was voiced by Buddy Hackett, and I am so here for this gender-flipper casting.
Jacob Tremblay as Flounder
The 14-year-old actor, aka the kid in Room, will be playing Ariel’s BFF Flounder.
Melissa McCarthy as Ursula
Two-time Oscar nominee and comedy superstar is set to play the evil sea witch, and she’s even recorded a couple of songs for the movie already! The initial news of her casting got mixed reactions online, with some fans hoping Lizzo (who threw her own name into the ring a few months earlier) would be the star giving us a 2021/2022 version of “Poor Unfortunate Souls” instead.
Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric
It feels like forever ago when the world had a tiny flame of hope that our future Prince Eric would be none other than Harry Styles. Needless to say, it’s not happening, BUT don’t think Disney is leaving us hanging. London-born Jonah kinda/maybe/actually/definitely looks like Prince Eric! I mean, Look! At! Him!
Javier Bardem as King Triton
The Hollywood Reporter sure had a lot of casting news to give us in 2019 when the outlet confirmed Javier Bardem would play King Triton, Ariel’s dad and king of the ocean. The Spanish actor won an Oscar for playing a killer in No Country for Old Men, so it’s nice to see him nab a totally opposite Disney role. But who knows, maybe Javier will stay in his villain typecast and Atlantica will get a whole lot scarier….
Daveed Diggs as Sebastian
TBH, this is the casting we all needed. I mean, Hamilton fans know how good Daveed is in sarcastic roles (does the name Thomas Jefferson ring a bell?), so it only makes sense for a true Broadway alum like him to be playing the beloved crab Sebastian. Also…imagine how good he’ll be in a full-blown dance number. Yeah, I’m ready for it.
MOST OF THE SONGS WILL BE THE SAME, BUT THERE WILL BE NEW MERMAID MUSIC TOO.
It wouldn’t be a Disney remake without some original tunes from Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. (PSA: The OG movie won Oscars for Best Original Music and Best Original Song for “Under the Sea.”) Disney knows exactly what to do in order for the new movie to be a hit—enter Lin-Manuel Miranda, walking Broadway genius and Moana songwriter. Given how Moana—and Hamilton!—had bangers strewn throughout, it’s easy to say the new Little Mermaid music is going to be bomb.
In February 2022, Miranda offered some new details about the movie’s soundtrack during a conversation on Variety’s Awards Circuit podcast. Although he said he won’t get to see a rough cut of the movie himself for at least another month, Lin-Manuel promised that all the songs fans love from the animated classic are still in the new film, but he teased one of the new tracks (there are “three or four” total, apparently) that he and Menken wrote—one that Halle’s Ariel belts out in the second half of the movie (yep, that would be the part when the character doesn’t have a voice).
“[Director] Rob [Marshall] found a creative way to hear from Ariel, even though she is sans voice for a little while. We wrote some music [for] her time on land. She experiences a lot of firsts, as someone with legs for the first time, so we got to lean into all of that musically,” Lin-Manuel explained (per People).
Lin-Manuel stressed that the final say on all things music for the movie rests with Menken, who wrote the songs and score for the 1989 version as well.
“Alan will tell you if he does not like something,” he said of the 72-year-old Disney veteran. “He’s a very, like, heart and opinion on sleeve guy.…He’s scoring it as well, along with the songs, just as he did with the original.”
And just in case you think Lin-Manuel is holding back on Little Mermaid music spoilers, he made it clear that he stans the movie himself and has no idea about what the final soundtrack is going to be—no cap.
“There’s no bigger Little Mermaid fan than me,” he added. “…But we found a couple of opportunities for some other music that I can’t wait to see. I’m in the dark as anyone else, honestly.”
WHEN IS THE LITTLE MERMAID’S RELEASE DATE AND HOW CAN I SEE IT?
As of now, the new movie is scheduled for release in May 2023, but Disney hasn't made an official statement yet regarding the release plan (i.e. if it will be theatrical-only at first or drop straight to Disney+).
