The Little Mermaid's Halle Bailey Reveals First Look at Live-Action Ariel as Filming Wraps
Halle Bailey is about to be part of your world as Ariel in Disney's live-action The Little [...]
Halle Bailey is about to be part of your world as Ariel in Disney's live-action The Little Mermaid, which the singer and actress says was "made with so much love." Teasing her mermaid princess in a post-wrap photo on Instagram, the 21-year-old Little Mermaid star recreates the iconic pose of Disney's 1989 animated classic in an official first look at the re-imagining from director Rob Marshall (Chicago, Disney's Mary Poppins Returns). The Little Mermaid filmed in Iver, England, and Sardinia, Italy, giving the production of the Disney remake a picture-perfect "wonderful ending."
Bailey wrote on Instagram:
and just like that..that's a wrap ❤️after auditioning for this film when i was 18 just about to turn 19, to now finishing filming through a pandemic when i turned 21 ..we have finally made it...💖i feel so grateful to have experienced this film in all of its glory..it has been the toughest experience being away from everything and everyone i've ever known, to feeling self doubt/ loneliness, but also feeling such freedom and perseverance as i've reached the end. this experience has made me so much stronger than i ever thought i could be.
The actor and singer, one half of the duo Chloe x Halle with her sister Chloe Bailey, also thanked her "lovely and talented" co-stars, including Jonah Hauer-King (A Dog's Way Home), who plays Prince Eric, Jacob Tremblay (Pixar's Luca), who voices Ariel's fish friend Flounder, and "legends" Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men), Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids), Awkwafina (Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), and Daveed Diggs (Hamilton).
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"I cannot wait for time to speed up so you all can watch this film because it was made with so much love (plus blood sweat and tears)," Bailey wrote alongside the first-look photo on Instagram.
Bailey's casting came after an "extensive search" for Disney's live-action Ariel, Marshall said in 2019. "It was abundantly clear that Halle possesses that rare combination of spirit, heart, youth, innocence, and substance — plus a glorious singing voice — all intrinsic qualities necessary to play this iconic role."
Original Ariel actress Jodi Benson, who voiced the character in the 1989 film and its two direct-to-video sequels, also publicly supported Bailey after Disney announced the lead of its live-action Little Mermaid.
Walt Disney Pictures has not yet announced a release date for The Little Mermaid. The studio has dates marked for multiple Untitled Live-Action films throughout 2022, including April 8, May 27, August 12, and November 4.