Halle Bailey to play Ariel in live-action version of Little Mermaid

One half of the singing duo Chloe X Halle, Halle Bailey is set to play the leading role in Little Mermaid.

The 19-year-old Grammy-nominated singer landed the coveted role to play the character of Disney Princess Ariel in the upcoming live action-film for Little Mermaid.

The development makes her the second black actress to play a live-action Disney princess after Brandy played Cinderella in 1997.

Speaking about Halle’s upcoming role, director Rob Marshall says in a statement:

“After an extensive search, 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.”

The Little Mermaid is a fairy tale written by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. The story follows the journey of a young fair mermaid who is willing to give up her life in the sea and her identity as a mermaid to gain a human soul. It was first published in 1837 as part of a collection of fairy tales for children. It has been adapted to various media, including musical theatre, anime, ballet, opera.

Disney first made an animated film of the book in 1989 with Jodi Benson as Princess Ariel and Christopher Daniel Barnes as Prince Eric.

The remake will incorporate original songs from the 1989 animated hit as well as new tunes from original composer Alan Menken and Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda. Miranda is also producing the film along with Marshall, Marc Platt and John DeLuca.

Halle is joining a cast that includes Jacob Tremblay and Awkwafina, while Melissa McCarthy is in talks to play Ursula.

And in case you are wondering who the talented star is, Halle is most known for her duets with older sister Chloe!  The sisters have come a long way since uploading song covers on YouTube and releasing their debut EP, Sugar Symphony, in April 2016. They recorded the theme song, “Grown,” for the television series Grown-ish, dropped their debut album “The Kids Are Alright” in March 2018, and performed at both the 2019 Grammy Awards and at the 2019 Super Bowl halftime show!

Halle stars on the Freeform show Grown-ish. Not only is her and Chloe’s music featured on the spin-off show to Black-ish, the sisters were cast to play twins on the show in 2018.

Sensational singer, Beyoncé is basically Halle and Chloe’s mentor. Queen Bey opened her stage for the sisters, twice! Chloe and Halle opened for the icon during the European leg of The Formation World Tour and also opened for Beyoncé and JAY-Z on the US leg of the On the Run Tour II.

Halle made her film debut alongside Queen Latifah. In 2007, Halle earned her first ever acting credit in Latifah’s comedy, Last Holiday.