Disney has revealed a new trailer for the live-action remake of “The Little Mermaid” starring Halle Bailey as Ariel. The musical, which is directed by Rob Marshall, puts a modern day spin on the 1989 original animated film with live actors.
On Twitter, Bailey shared a link to the clip and wrote: “i’m so very excited to continue the #Disney100 celebration with this new look at #TheLittleMermaid just 100 days until it arrives in theaters!”
The storyline remains the same: Ariel falls in love with a human prince who lives above the sea, putting the antagonist Ursula immediately into action to derail their connection.
Back in July 2019, Disney announced that Bailey would be portraying the red-headed character. The very first trailer for the film came months later in September and immediately caused backlash since racists believed that Ariel shouldn’t be played by a Black actress.
The film’s ensemble includes Halle Bailey as Ariel, Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric, Daveed Diggs as the voice of Sebastian and Jacob Tremblay as the voice of Flounder. The clip shows an encounter with Ariel and Ursula.
Last year, Bailey told Variety: “The fact that now it’s getting to be played by me, a person who looks like me, woman of color, I’m just like, wow, I’m so grateful what it will do for all the other little Black and brown boys and girls who will see themselves in me. Because I know if I had seen myself when I was younger, I think my whole perspective would’ve changed.”
The Little Mermaid soundtrack is a joint effort from Broadway visionary Lin-Manuel Miranda and Alan Menken (he scored the original animated film). Miranda and Menken worked together on four original songs. The film’s official release date is May 26.