Disney casts Halle Bailey as Ariel in live-action ‘Little Mermaid’

Chloe x Halle member Halle Bailey has been cast as Princess Ariel in Disney’s upcoming live-action remake of The Little Mermaid.

In a Disney release published Wednesday, film director Rob Marshall stated that Bailey had been selected for the role after an extensive search.

“It was abundantly clear that Halle possesses that rare combination of spirit, heart, youth, innocence, and substance — plus a gorgeous singing voice — all intrinsic qualities necessary to play this role,” said Marshall.

According to Variety, Bailey will be joining a cast including Jacob Tremblay and Awkwafina, while Melissa McCarthy is said to be in talks to play Ursula, the evil sea witch.

Bailey shared her excitement for the role on Twitter Wednesday, tweeting out a animated picture of an African-American Ariel, simply captioning it “dream come true…”

https://twitter.com/chloexhalle/status/1146509551497170944

The announcement has created a firestorm of reaction on social media where people shared their excitement and support for the casting that many considered a milestone in the Black community.

R-REALLY….????? oh my god… i'm seriously gonna cry this is so so soooo cool the little mermaid was always one of my top top favs and this is just… AMAZING… BLACK ARIEL!!!! YAAAY I'M SO HAPPY!!! EEEEEEEE https://t.co/51wFk9yNTJ

— Biji 🛸 (@heybiji) July 3, 2019

However, not everyone shared these sentiments. The hashtag, #NotMyAriel began trending as some people shared concerns that Disney’s ethnic change would not be true to original character or story. Some even compared it to Princess Tiana being portrayed by a White actress.

https://twitter.com/PaolaFl55150463/status/1147133407241134080

Disney has yet to announce a release date for the film.

Source: Variety