Journey Green
Singer and actress Halle Bailey has received racist backlash after first being cast for the film, Little Mermaid. The director of the new live-action recreation, Rob Marshall, has broken his silence.
Updated by Journey Green (12/21/2022 at 3:14 pm)
As the Little Mermaid gears up to be released in May of 2023, mixed reviews have been steadily on the rise. The director of the recreation of the 1989 film, Rob Marshall, has finally spoken out about the racist backlash.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Marshall claimed that the film had no “agenda” for casting and wanted to choose the best actress.
Rob then said that everyone of all backgrounds was considered:
“We saw everybody and every ethnicity.”
According to the director, Halle was the best person suited to play the role; Marshall adds that Halle is “incredibly strong, passionate, beautiful, smart, clever, and with a great deal of fire and joy.”
Disney Recognizes Black Excellence + Casts Halle Bailey As Ariel In Live-Action Little Mermaid
By SOHH Squad (07/04/2022 at 4:04 pm)
Hollywood giant Disney knows black excellence when it sees it. In 219, the entertainment conglomerate officially cast actress Halle Bailey as Ariel.
After months of searching for its lead, Disney announced the huge decision to go with the 19-year-old musician.
The R&B singer has been tapped to play Ariel in Disney’s next live-action adaptation of “The Little Mermaid.” Although director Rob Marshall has spent the last couple of months meeting with talent, insiders say Bailey has been a clear front runner from the beginning. “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,” Marshall said in a statement. (Variety)
Bailey made sure to hit up social media and geek out over landing the major role.
Production on the must-see live-action flick is expected to start up next year.
The film, produced by John DeLuca, Marc Platt and Lin-Manuel Miranda, will feature the iconic songs from the 1989 animated classic by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, as well as new songs by Menken and Miranda.Melissa McCarthy has reportedly been cast as the villain, Ursula. Shooting is expected to get underway sometime in 2020. (CNN)
Bailey has blown up over the past few years as a musician signed to Disney’s The Lion King star Beyoncé’s label.
Bailey, 19, is best known as one-half of Chloe x Halle, who signed to Beyoncé’s Parkwood Entertainment label after gaining popularity with YouTube covers. The Little Mermaid would be a breakout role for Bailey, whose only other screen credit is as a supporting player on Freeform’s Yara Shahidi series Grown-ish. She is repped by CAA. (The Hollywood Reporter)
