Harry Styles Might Play Prince Eric In Upcoming ‘Little Mermaid’
Harry Styles might be part of Ariel’s world in Disney’s upcoming live-action remake of The Little Mermaid. The Dunkirk actor and former One Direction member is reportedly in early negotiations to play Price Eric in the film opposite Halle Bailey, says Variety.
Melissa McCarthy will play Ursula, the sea witch who offers Ariel legs and the chance to become human in exchange for her voice. Others in talks to appear in the film are Jacob Trembley (Room and The Predator) as Ariel’s best friend Flounder and Awkwafina (The Farewell, Crazy Rich Asians) as seagull Scuttle, says E! News.
The film will be directed by Rob Marshall (2018’s Mary Poppins and Into the Woods) and written by David Magee (Finding Neverland). It will be a musical and will feature songs from the original Disney animated movie in addition to new songs written by Alan Menken (who wrote the score for the original film and many other Disney classics) and Lin-Manuel Miranda (creator of the smash Broadway hit Hamilton), who will also co-produce the film.
Fans took to social media to express their approval of the news. Many were overjoyed at potentially getting new music from Styles and others were excited to see Styles and Bailey as onscreen love interests.
While Prince Eric has no songs in the Disney cartoon, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the character had two solo songs in the 2000s Broadway musical and also performed in ensemble numbers.
No one is tapped to play Ariel’s father, King Triton, yet but Terry Crews has been having fun on social media vying for the role. The America’s Got Talent host posted images of himself as King Triton before posting an “audition” video on Twitter last week. The video sees Crews dancing and singing amidst photoshopped bubbles and even a trident.
“Under the sea! Under the sea! My pecs are better, my triton is bigger, take it from me! Need a refresher? Watch AGT!” he captioned the video. The caption matches what Crews sings in the video, to the tune of “Under the Sea,” the classic song from the 1989 film sung by crab Sebastian. The Calypso-style tune won an Academy Award for best original song.
Harry Styles in early talks for Prince Eric role in live-action The Little Mermaid https://t.co/UdjsM8skz3
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) July 16, 2019
The “Sign of the Times” singer was also recently in the running to play Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann’s biopic of the rock and roll superstar. As reported by The Inquisitr, the Australian director announced on Monday that the role went to Austin Butler.
