Considering how much success Disney has had over the last decade with its lineup of live-action remakes/re-imaginings of its classic animated movies, it was only a matter of time before The Little Mermaid, the movie that kicked off the Disney Renaissance, was given such treatment. Following COVID-19-related delays, the live-action Little Mermaid finally began filming in January, and with cameras now done rolling, Halle Bailey, the movie’s star, has taken to social media to celebrate this milestone by sharing our first official look at this Mouse House offering.
Halle Bailey was selected to play Ariel in Disney’s live-action version of The Little Mermaid back in summer 2019, three decades after the animated original came out. Now that principal photography is completed, the actress went on Twitter to give the public a sneak peek of this latest take on The Little Mermaid:
Had the pandemic not wreaked havoc on everyday life, The Little Mermaid would have began filming in either late March or early April of 2020. But hey, better late than never, right? Halle Berry and the rest of The Little Mermaid’s cast and crew were hard at work in places like Sardina, Italy and Pinewood Studios in Iver, England for a little over five months, and now that principal photography is done, the post-production process begins. It’ll be a while until the first trailer for The Little Mermaid drops, but thanks to Halle Bailey, we now have a quick taste of her version of Ariel, who looks dazzling that natural lighting on the shore.
Following in the footsteps of Disney’s more traditional remakes, like Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin, The Little Mermaid will tell the story of Ariel, the daughter of King Triton who longs to venture into the human world and makes a deal with the sea witch Ursula to exchange her voice for becoming a human. This will mark Halle Bailey’s first starring role in a film; until now, she’s been best known for being one half of the Chloe x Halle music duo and playing Sky Forster on Freeform’s Grown-ish. With The Little Mermaid having played such an integral part in her first years of adulthood, I can understand why finally finishing shooting the movie means so much to her.
Along with Halle Bailey, The Little Mermaid’s cast includes Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, Javier Bardem as King Triton, Jonah Hater-King as Prince Eric, David Diggs as Sebastian, Jacob Tremblay as Flounder and Awkwafina as Scuttle, among others. Behind the scenes, Mary Poppins Returns’ Rob Marshall is directing off a script written by Jane Goldman and David Magee. Alan Menken, who scored and co-wrote songs for the original Little Mermaid, came back to compose the live-action remake and write new songs with Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranada.
The Little Mermaid still doesn’t have a release date yet, but once that’s announced, we’ll let you know. In the meantime, keep track with what is on the calendar with our 2021 release schedule and 2022 release schedule.
