Halle Bailey is ready to become a part of your world. The singer has just been cast as Ariel in Disney’s upcoming live-action remake of “The Little Mermaid,” Walt Disney Studios announced Wednesday.
Bailey, 19, will make her film debut with the role. Other cast members in talks for the movie are “Crazy Rich Asians” star Awkwafina as Scuttle, Melissa McCarthy as Ursula and “Wonder” star Jacob Tremblay as Flounder.
The announcement marks the first time Disney has cast a woman of color in the role of a traditionally white princess for one of its live-action remakes. Bailey called the casting a “dream come true” on Twitter, tweeting a photo of herself as a cartoon Ariel.
Bailey rose to fame with her sister as R&B duo Halle x Chloe. Since then, the two have starred in the “Black-ish” spinoff “Grown-ish” and opened for Beyoncé during her Formation World Tour. The pair also released a studio album and sang on the soundtrack for Ava DuVernay’s “Wrinkle in Time,” another Disney film.
“After an extensive search, 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,” director Rob Marshall said in a press release Wednesday.
The film is expected to be released in 2020, featuring music from the original 1989 animated classic, as well as new music from Lin-Manuel Miranda and Alan Menken.
