18 People Responses To The New Black Ariel

By Marksman on July 5, 2019@fizx

The new live-action remake of Disney’s ‘The Little Mermaid’ has just published who will star in the leading role – 19-year-old singer Halle Bailey will be Ariel.

After an extended search, director Rob Marshall said that 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.”

Image credits: DisneyStudios

Bailey, who said on Twitter that it was a “dream come true,” forms part of the R&B duo Chloe x Halle, who first started by doing covers of pop songs on YouTube. Their debut EP, Sugar Symphony, was released in 2016 and contained the hits ‘Drop’ and ‘Fall.’

The pair also made cameo appearances in Beyoncé’s Lemonade visual album and were her opening act for the European leg of The Formation World Tour. ‘The Little Mermaid’ will be Bailey’s feature-film debut.

According to Variety, the live-action Disney remake will “incorporate original songs from the 1989 animated hit, as well as new tunes from original composer Alan Menken and “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda.” Miranda is also producing the film along with Marshall, Marc Platt, and John DeLuca. Also in the cast are Jacob Tremblay and Awkwafina, while Melissa McCarthy is in talks to play Ursula.

People took to Twitter with positive reactions to the casting, with many highlighting the importance of a young black woman taking on the role of Ariel. However, although we should really just overlook them, there were some trolls too.