Harry Styles Was Officially Cast As Prince Eric In 'The Little Mermaid' — UPDATE
UPDATE: According to reports by Variety and The Wrap, Harry Styles will not be Disney's Prince Eric. Individuals close to the film reportedly told The Wrap that while "Styles is a fan of the project," he "respectfully declined" taking on the role. According to Variety, "initial reports about his casting were premature" and "the studio has already begun looking at others for the part." Apparently, a decision should be made soon. Elite Daily reached out to Disney for further comment on the reports, but did not hear back by the time of publication.
EARLIER: OMG y'all! Our live-action Ariel may finally have her prince. Harry Styles will reportedly play Prince Eric in The Little Mermaid opposite Halle Bailey, and I'm screaming. He's a perfect fit. Elite Daily reached out to Disney and Styles' team for confirmation on the report, but did not hear back by the time of publication.
The One Direction member has been rumored to play the love interest of our beloved underwater princess pretty much every since the movie was announced. In a now-deleted tweet, AMC tweeted that the British singer officially signed on to the role as of Aug. 13, writing, "And we have a prince! 🐚 Harry Styles is confirmed to play Prince Eric in @Disney's live-action remake of #TheLittleMermaid."
I've gotta be honest: I'm rooting for him. Now, for anyone concerned about Styles' acting chops, he's got some major motion-picture cred to bring to the table. In 2017, he starred in Christopher Nolan's war-movie Dunkirk.
What's most exciting about this reported casting is the fact that Styles can sing (obvi) and Prince Eric doesn't have a single song in the original leading me to believe there is a very high possibility that is about to change.
In the past few months, fandoms across music and film have been tweeting (read, pressuring) Disney to choose their "icon" to star in what feels like the most highly-anticipated live Disney remake yet.
In June 2019, Zendaya seemed like the frontrunner for the role of Ariel. While making rounds in promotion of her then-latest film Spider-Man: Far From Home, Zendaya stepped out with beautiful red locks and the internet shook. Some fans thought she was paying homage to Spider-Man character MJ (which turned out to be correct), but others had serious suspicions she was revealing involvement in the Disney remake. But, Zendaya dispelled those rumors on the same day. "Although flattering, this is and always has been a rumor lol," she replied to a report.
Halle Bailey was announced as Ariel soon after, on July 3. Fandoms then moved on to the next available character, Prince Eric. Many hoped casting a Black singer as Ariel could also signify more diverse casting in regards to Prince Eric. Some members of the BTS ARMY were pulling for Jimin to take on the role. Honestly, looking at the tweet below, he looks like he'd make a phenomenal fit, too. Look at that smile.
According to Variety, Melissa McCarthy will take on the role of Ursula, the evil sea witch who basically robs Ariel of her voice. If that’s true, I think McCarthy would make a hilarious addition, although I was seriously gunning for Lizzo. Just take a look at the tweet below and try to unsee how amazing she would be.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Comedian Awkwafina is also in talks to voice Ariel’s seagull friend, Scuttle, and yet again, I’m here for it! Remember how funny she was in Ocean's 8 alongside Cate Blanchett, Rihanna, and Sandra Bullock? Good Boys’ Jacob Tremblay, who is an incredibly dynamic actor at the age of 12, is reportedly going to take on the voice of Flounder, Ariel’s cute fishy friend and I can't think of a better kid to do it.
There have also been numerous reports surrounding the casting of King Triton, Ariel's dad. Personally, I'd love to see Jason Momoa. He's already Aquaman, King of Atlantis, in the DC Universe, so he totally knows how to command the sea. However, reports suggest this role is going to Skyfall's Javier Bardem.
Sigh, there are so many talented actors and musicians who want to take part in this film. For me, it's mostly a toss-up. I'm just ready to head to the theater. Too bad production doesn't even start until April 2020. We will have to hang tight until well after then, fam.
