Disney lovers can’t wait to see The Little Mermaid remake, which will reimagine the 1989 classic in live-action for a new generation. We’ve already got a flavor for the film thanks to various set photos that have leaked online from the shoot in Italy over the past couple of months, but now star Halle Bailey has revealed our first official look at her as Ariel on social media, as well as confirming that production has wrapped. You can find the image in the gallery below.
The behind-the-scenes pic sees Bailey in costume as Ariel, posing in the water on the shore, evoking an iconic image from the original film. Along with the photo, the singer and actress confirmed in a lengthy caption that shooting has completed:
“And just like that… that’s a wrap,” Bailey wrote. “After auditioning for this film when i was 18 just about to turn 19 , to now finishing filming through a pandemic when i turned 21 ..we have finally made it… i feel so grateful to have experienced this film in all of its glory.”
Bailey went on to reflect on how transformative the experience – her first ever leading acting role – has been for her.
“It has been the toughest experience being away from everything and everyone i’ve ever known, to feeling self doubt/ loneliness, but also feeling such freedom and perseverance as i’ve reached the end. this experience has made me so much stronger than i ever thought i could be.”
The star then thanked the rest of the movie’s cast for being so welcoming – namely, Jonah Hauer-King (Prince Eric), Jacob Tremblay (Flounder), Javier Bardem (King Triton), Melissa McCarthy (Ursula), Awkwafina (Scuttle) and Daveed Diggs (Sebastian).
“I’m so grateful to have such lovely and talented people in the cast like @jonahhauerking that will be my friend for infinite lifetimes, @jacobtremblay who i’m so proud of and legends like @bardemantarctic @melissamccarthy @awkwafina @daveeddiggs who are masters of their craft but are so welcoming and open to little old me..as well as to the rest of the beautiful cast and crew.”
Finally, Bailey concluded her caption by telling her fans that she cannot wait for everyone to get to see what they’ve cooked up.
“I cannot wait for time to speed up so you all can watch this film because it was made with so much love (plus blood sweat and tears) lol thank you sardinia for a wonderful ending!!! xoxo.”
As you’d expect with Bailey on board, The Little Mermaid will be a full-blown musical like the first film, with Oscar-winning director Rob Marshall (Mary Poppins Returns) behind the camera. Original composer Alan Menken partnered up with Lin-Manuel Miranda to pen some new songs for the remake, with characters like Eric, Triton and Scuttle all getting solo numbers this time around.
With The Little Mermaid having now wrapped, hopefully we’ll soon finally get some concrete info on when we can expect the movie to swim into theaters. But it’s a safe bet that the remake will become part of our world sometime in 2022.
