Disney’s remake of The Little Mermaid may have been postponed until 2023, but Halle Bailey believes that it will be worth the wait for fans. Ever since the movie was announced as part of Disney’s reimagining of their classic animated back catalog, people have been waiting to see Bailey’s take on Ariel flipping her fins on the sand. The remake has been hampered by Covid-19 delays like many projects of the last two years, but Rob Marshall’s movie wrapped principal photography back in July. This led many to believe there was a possibility they would be seeing the movie hit cinemas sometime next year, but it was confirmed last week that a Memorial Day 2023 release is what we are getting.
Just to reiterate how long the movie has been in production, Halle Bailey commented on her Instagram account when giving fans their first official look at Ariel, “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.” Speaking on the MTV VMA’s red carpet, Bailey this week told AP Entertainment, “It was so good to just finish it. I’m so happy to just be like, ‘Yeah, that’s completed!’ I cannot wait for it to be out. I know we have a little while to wait but I think it will be worth it.”
RELATED: Disney’s The Little Mermaid Remake Won’t Arrive in Theaters Until Memorial Day Weekend 2023
Following in the footsteps of Beauty and The Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King, Disney’s The Little Mermaid becomes the latest of their biggest animated classics from the early 1990s to be given the live-action treatment. It features well-known songs such as Under the Sea and Kiss the Girl as well as new songs by original composer Alan Menken and Lin-Manuel Miranda. Along with Bailey in the title role, the movie also boasts Javier Bardem as King Triton, Daveed Diggs as Sebastian, Shang-Chi star Awkwafina as Scuttle and Melissa McCarthy as sea witch Ursula.
The production has been a self-professed whirlwind for Halle Bailey, who comes into a big Disney movie that for a couple of years had some big names rumored for the role of Ariel. At one point, Lindsay Lohan was lobbying for the role. Speaking to Flaunt last year, Bailey expressed how unbelievable the whole experience has been.
“I really connected with how Ariel feels,” the actress said. “She just wants to discover something new. She wants to see a whole different world that has never been introduced to her before […] There was a moment particularly when I was in London, and doing things on my own, and working every day, and working very hard, where I was like, ‘Okay, this must be what it feels like to have myself to rely on.’ I am kind of proud of myself. This has been a wild ride into adulthood.”
With the movie still almost two years away from premiering, it is likely to be a while before we see a full trailer for The Little Mermaid, but similarly, Disney is not one for letting anyone forget about which big releases they have coming up, so we can expect a few more shots and sneak peeks in the coming year. Disney recently announced the release date, and The Little Mermaid will hit cinemas on May 26th, 2023. The fan art comes to us from BossLogic on Twitter.
You can view the original article HERE.
