Disney’s upcoming live-action remake of The Little Mermaid has found its Prince Eric, as Jonah Hauer-King has reportedly officially signed on for the role. According to a new report, Hauer-King screen-tested twice for the role, with the second occurrence just a few days ago on Nov. 9 in London with director Rob Marshall. Apparently, Marshall likes what he saw in Hauer-King, as the young actor will now star opposite Halle Bailey as our new Ariel, the titular mermaid.
Jonah Hauer-King is a rising star in Hollywood who most recently portrayed a younger version of Tim Roth’s character in the drama movie The Song of Names. His casting in The Little Mermaid is not particularly surprising in that he had previously been reported to be among one of two finalists for the part along with Krypton star Cameron Cuffe. Previously, Harry Styles had also been in talks for the role, though the musician reportedly turned it down to put more focus on his music career. 13 Reasons Why star Christian Navarro also audtioned for the part, so producers certainly had their options. We can presume Hauer-King impressed Marshall with his voice in addition to his skills as an actor to land the coveted part.
In addition to Hauer-King as Prince Eric and Halle Bailey as Ariel, several other casting choices have also been reported. Some of the other names in negotiations for major roles include Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, Jacob Tremblay as Flounder, Awkwafina as Scuttle, Javier Bardem as King Triton, and Daveed Diggs as Sebastian. What’s been seen of the live-action cast of The Little Mermaid has been great so far, so there’s a lot of potential for this particular Disney remake. As we near the start of production, more names should be officially signed on and more casting announcements are likely to be coming in the near future.
The live-action The Little Mermaid is a direct remake of the original animated movie released by Disney in 1989. Its story follows a young mermaid named Ariel who longs for life on land after falling in love with a handsome young prince. Ursula, a sinister sea-witch, offers Ariel a deal to become a human for three days, with the catch that she must earn “true love’s kiss” from Prince Eric before the time is up – otherwise, Ursula will own the mermaid forever. Of course, with this being an animated Disney movie, everything turns out alright for Ariel and Eric in the end as the princess and prince get married and live happily ever after.
There is still no official release date yet set for the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, but the project will reportedly begin filming in early 2020. For now, Disney fans will have plenty of content to keep them occupied on the new Disney+ streaming service, including the similar live-action remake of the animated classic Lady and the Tramp. Disney’s clearly not going to slow down with these kinds of remakes anytime soon, so we might as well enjoy them for what they are. This news comes to us from Variety.
