Aside from the never-ending entries in the long-running Marvel Cinematic Universe – as well as a renewed focus on the Star Wars franchise – Disney has been working hard on adapting some of their most cherished animated films into live-action remakes. To date, Beauty and the Beast, The Jungle Book and Cinderella have proven to be some of their most successful re-imaginings, and later this week, The Lion King is releasing in theaters worldwide. Of course, there are still plenty of other remakes on the horizon, including the recently-announced Little Mermaid film.
A couple of weeks back, Disney revealed that Grown-ish actor Halle Bailey (nope, not Halle Berry) will be playing the role of Ariel. Aside from the one official casting announcement though, the House of Mouse hasn’t divulged any other picks, but a recent report from TheDisInsider.com suggests the company has started looking at a familiar name to play the role of King Triton.
As the outlet writes, one of their unnamed sources claims that Javier Bardem – star of No Country for Old Men and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales – is in talks to play the role of King Triton, the ruler of Atlantica and Ariel’s father. Of course, this information should be taken with a grain of salt, but we’ll be sure to follow the rumor as more concrete news comes to light. We should also note that The Expendables actor Terry Crews also recently threw his name into the ring, so it looks like Disney has a couple of actors to choose from.
On a related note, just yesterday we heard that One Direction singer and Dunkirk star Harry Styles was also being eyed for the role of Prince Eric. Even if none of these rumors prove true though, one thing’s for certain – the House of Mouse is ramping up the project quickly, so we’re sure to hear more about The Little Mermaid in the near future.
