Halle Bailey, one half of the Grammy-nominated singing sister duo Chloe x Halle, is bringing all of the #BlackGirlMagic that we can handle in the sneak peek of Disney’s The Little Mermaid. She stars as the mermaid princess Ariel in Disney's live-action musical. The trailer was unveiled last Friday.
The trailer begins with Ariel moving through the ocean swimming with fishes and sea turtles. She then discovers a wrecked ship, gazes toward the horizon, and sings the last line of the iconic song "Part of Your World."
When the trailer was unveiled, Bailey said it was the first time she's seen any footage of the film.
“I’m sure all of you in here can relate to Ariel and how special she is to all of us,” she said. “Being a little girl swimming in the pool, imagining I was a mermaid, I never imagined that would come to life [like this]. … The three days filming ‘Part of Your World’ was the most beautiful experience of my life—feeling all the feelings she feels, her passion, discomfort, everything she’s experiencing. It was so exciting for me to play those emotions and to have Rob directing me and being such a moving force on this film was really an honor.”
In July of 2019, director Rob Marshall released a statement praising Bailey as the best choice the be cast in the role.
“After an extensive search, it was abundantly clear that Halle possesses that rare combination of spirit, heart, youth, innocence, and substances—plus a glorious singing voice—all intrinsic qualities necessary to play this iconic role,” he said at the time.
The film also stars Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric, Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, and Javier Bardem as King Triton, with Daveed Diggs as the voice of Sebastian the crab, Jacob Tremblay as Flounder, and Awkwafina as Scuttle.
The Little Mermaid will hit theaters May 26, 2023.
