Emma Watson Will NOT portray Ariel – Hoax

Emma Watson may go down as the greatest actress of her generation. If she does though, it will not be based on her portrayal of Ariel, the mermaid, in a live-action remake of Disney’s The Little Mermaid. Emma has denied that she is a part of any Little Mermaid project. It turns out that the whole story was a hoax.

On social media, many posts have been making the rounds that Emma was committed to the Little Mermaid project, such as the following:

I saw a thing earlier this morning saying there’s talk of a Little Mermaid live action movie to be released in 2015 starring Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe.

Unfortunately, none of the above is true. It was all a part of an April Fools prank on MuggleNet, a Harry Potter fan website, in April 2013. So not only are the reports and speculation untrue, but they are almost two years old. The joke was very detailed, describing how Emma was preparing for her role:

Emma was seen leaving an aquatics facility this past weekend in Los Angeles. We can only assume that this means she has started training for her role as Ariel. Yes, training. As this is a live action film, Emma must take on several aquatic disciplines including SCUBA-diving, synchronized swimming, and diving. In addition to athletic training, Emma will also be singing the original songs from the animated version such as “Part of Your World.”

The two year old hoax again began circulating again this week. Doesn’t this type of random chatter make you ponder your place in the universe? Or not. There’s no indication as to the cause or reason that this joke gained new life this week.

In non-hoax related Emma Watson news, she will be presenting an award at this year’s Oscars this weekend. Additionally, Watson is also set to star in the Biblical film “Noah,” which is directed by Darren Aronofsky and features Russell Crowe as the main character. It will be in theaters March 28. Finally, Emma will be involved in the Guillermo del Toro re-telling of “Beauty and the Beast,” rumored to be starring Kenneth Branagh.

Whatever the project, Emma has built a loyal following based on her portrayal of Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter series of films. So, while we won’t be seeing Watson don a tail fin and flippers as Ariel, The Little Mermaid, any time in the near future, we will surely line up for “Noah”, “Beauty and the Beast,” or anything else that features Emma Watson.