Although a release date has yet to be set, casting for Disney’s live-action remake of The Little Mermaid has ramped up in a major way in the past couple of weeks, culminating in the news that actress Halle Bailey has landed the role of Ariel. One major role that has yet to be cast is that of Ariel’s dad, King Triton. With an African American actress playing Ariel, actor Terry Crews is now hilariously campaigning to wear the crown. Check it out:
BossLogic better watch his back because Terry Crews’ Photoshop game is no joke; this is practically concept art for the movie it’s so perfect. In the image posted to Twitter, Terry Crews imagines himself as Ariel’s dad King Triton, swimming in front of his palace in the kingdom of Atlantica. Hilariously, it actually appears to be Aquaman’s trident from the 2018 film that he is holding in the image, and not King Triton’s from The Little Mermaid.
With his caption about being Ariel’s dad and his funny accompanying hashtags, Terry Crews is clearly putting it out there that he’d like to play King Triton in Rob Marshall’s remake of the 1989 movie that kicked off Disney’s Renaissance. And hey, if you’re going to campaign for a role, you might as well show yourself in character. Although Terry Crews didn’t go quite as far as Lizzo did in her play for the Ursula part.
Even though this image is rather silly looking, the idea of Terry Crews as King Triton isn’t that crazy, especially if the remake hews close to King Triton’s physique and personality from the original. The Brooklyn Nine-Nine actor definitely has the muscles to play the burly and shirtless Sea King. He’s also got that affable, loving quality that King Triton shows for his daughter Ariel in the original film.
Terry Crews even has five children, with four daughters, comparable to Triton’s seven daughters with Queen Athena. So he can presumably identify with Triton’s struggles with strong-willed daughters. Of course, we’re also used to Terry Crews being a likeable character and as Triton he would have to also be occasionally overbearing and intimidating to Ariel.
We haven’t heard any rumblings about who could play King Triton in The Little Mermaid yet, but Terry Crews would be a fun choice and he’s clearly interested. After Halle Bailey’s casting BossLogic made an image of Idris Elba in the role, which would also fit. Without knowing what direction this film is going or what approach they will take for the character it is hard to say definitively who is right for the role.
It is clear though that Disney is making bold choices with The Little Mermaid and we shouldn’t be surprised if that again happens with King Triton. Whoever gets the role, he would join Halle Bailey’s Ariel, Awkwafina’s Scuttle and Jacob Tremblay’s Flounder. Melissa McCarthy is also in talks to play the Sea Witch Ursula.
We’ll keep you updated on the latest casting for The Little Mermaid and news about all of Disney’s upcoming live-action remakes. Check out our 2019 premiere guide to prep for everything headed to theaters this year.
