Every day we inch agonizingly closer to the release of the live-action The Little Mermaid, and Disney is giving us just enough to keep life in fans’ veins. A new poster was released this week and with it the announcement of an official trailer. It’s set to premiere during the Oscars on Sunday, March 12 – which you can tune into live on ABC.
The Little Mermaid will make its way to theaters on May 26, 2023. It stars the incredibly talented Halle Bailey playing Ariel. The 23-year-old has won 5 Grammy awards since 2018 and has already wowed us with her incredible singing voice. Director Rob Marshall has assured fans that Ariel has several new numbers, all of which further explore the mermaid’s feelings of being displaced and trying to find out who she truly is.
Bailey isn’t the only powerhouse on the team. The talented cast includes comedian Melissa McCarthy as Ursula – a role that the actor said “scared her to death” when she was cast. Academy award winner Javier Bardem plays King Triton, and the No Country for Old Men (2007) actor admitted to having a singing role in the film. Daveed Diggs, of Hamilton fame will be playing Sebastian the Crab and the singer threw himself into the character, worried he might accidently offend Jamaicans with his accent. With so much passion from the crew it’s hard not to get excited for the upcoming feature.
Beyond the talented singers there are plenty of other incredible actors making up the cast. Flounder the Fish will be played by Jacob Tremblay of Room (2015) and the actor has made no secret of his love for the character and the changes Disney has made to his character design. Disney alum Awkwafina is set to play the seagull Scuttle, the comedian recently lent her voice to Raya and the Last Dragon (2021). While fans might not recognize British actor Jonah Hauer-King‘s name yet, the handsome young Brit is playing Prince Eric – and is joined by Art Malik as Sir Grimsby, Eric’s loyal servant.
Noma Dumezweni has been cast as new character, Queen Selina. The made-for-live-action monarch is almost certainly not Ariel’s mother with Queen Athena’s passing being a key reason for Triton’s overbearing nature. Disney has developed several new characters for their live-action entries, with the additions receiving mixed receptions and serving as foils for the protagonists. Fan reception to the films has also varied wildly, with some entries like The Jungle Book (2016) receiving a 94% on rotten tomatoes as opposed to 52% for The Lion King (2019).
While we don’t know much about the ways Disney will reimagine the plot, we can use the basic outline the company has used with its other releases. Ariel will remain the tenacious, beautiful, youngest daughter of an overprotective father. The story will fill out in some ways, director Rob Marshall has added new songs for Ariel, and it sounds like King Triton gets his chance to belt out a banger too. Ariel’s desire to be a part of the surface world will lead to her meeting the handsome and intrepid prince Eric, and she will — out of desperation — reach out to the sea witch Ursula for the chance to meet the dashing prince.
Ariel will then have just a few days to convince Eric that she is the love of his life before she is reduced to a slimy little polyp just like all of the other merfolk Ursula has ensnared. The introduction of Queen Selina should be interesting. In the original story of The Little Mermaid, young Ariel is frequently looked after by her grandmother. Adding a new layer of family into the story could really step it up a notch. If the story takes any que from the animated adventure Moana (2016), there will be some serious sniffling over sage grandma advice. With the overwhelmingly neutral response to most of the live-action entries, let’s hope that Disney has finally cracked the code and The Little Mermaid blows the competition right out of the water.
