Terry Crews Wants To Play King Triton In The Live-Action ‘Little Mermaid’ And Twitter Loves It
American comedian and actor Terry Crews recently took to Twitter to suggest that he wants to play King Triton in the live-action The Little Mermaid starring Halle Bailey, and fans are reacting very positively to the revelation.
“If you play Ariel’s dad, Disney will have my money,” one user wrote.
“I don’t like Disney live-action remakes, but I’ll watch this one if this were to happen,” another fan chimed in.
“Please let this be true,” yet another user commented.
Crews also made headlines recently when he announced that a sequel to White Chicks is in the works. Per Hollywood Life, Crews made the revelation during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen.
“I actually got with Shawn and he was like ‘Man we doing it, we’re getting it going,'” he said, referring to White Chicks star Shawn Wayans. “15 years ago as of this month! I’m staying in shape just for this movie.”
White Chicks released in 2004 and follows Shawn and his brother Marlon Wayans as two FBI agents in their undercover investigation as two white women. Crews made waves with his portrayal of Latrell Spencer, a pro basketball player who takes an interest in Marlon’s character, Marcus Copeland.
Ariel’s Dad!!!! ???? #ArielsGotTerry #AmericasGotTerry pic.twitter.com/OMEXfmpWPE
— Terry Crews (@terrycrews) July 6, 2019
Per The Inquisitr, the announcement of The Little Mermaid hasn’t been without controversy. It sparked backlash and a hashtag #NotMyAriel after many fans complained that casting Bailey, a woman of color, was betraying the original film, which portrayed Ariel as white. The backlash mirrored complaints about franchises like Star Wars and Marvel Cinematic Universe that decided to cast women and minorities in prominent roles.
In the case of The Little Mermaid, it appears that at least some of the backlash stemmed from fake Twitter accounts that appeared to be pushing controversy with no real end goal.
Diana Huey, the first Japanese American actress to play Ariel on stage, expressed her support for Bailey, and The Wrap reports that she also gave her some advice.
“Keep your head up and know that it’s so much bigger than you as a single person fighting these battles,” Huey said. “If she can stay positive and just remember, there’s more support than there is hatred.”
Huey added that she believes Bailey is fighting an important battle and stresses that she’s not alone in the fight. She also noted that the criticism she received for playing Ariel was not from the children in the audience, who she claims praised her performance.
