This Wednesday, Disney found their latest princess in the form of Halle Bailey, who’s taking over the role of Ariel for the Mouse House’s upcoming live-action remake of The Little Mermaid. Bailey already has an established fanbase thanks to being part of R&B duo Chloe x Halle, but a whole lot of folks got very confused when the casting announcement came out and assumed that X-Men star Halle Berry had landed the part.
Berry might not be our next Ariel, but the actress is pleased that her namesake got the gig instead. She took to Twitter recently to congratulate Bailey on her success. Alongside a pic of the young star and some cool fan art imagining a cartoon version of her Ariel, Berry wrote: “In case you needed a reminder… Halles get it DONE. Congratulations @chloexhalle on this amazing opportunity, we can’t wait to see what you do!”
In case you needed a reminder… Halles get it DONE. Congratulations @chloexhalle on this amazing opportunity, we can’t wait to see what you do! #TheLittleMermaid #HalleBailey pic.twitter.com/z0Rik2nxRe
— Halle Berry (@halleberry) July 3, 2019
Bailey then saw Berry’s message and was clearly touched by her well-wishes. The 19-year-old star wrote back: “This means the world. happy to share names with you.. love you lots.”
this means the world. happy to share names with you 😭😭 love you lots https://t.co/Wzkj8Mgsze
— chloe x halle (@chloexhalle) July 3, 2019
Berry then followed up Bailey’s reply with yet more compliments. “You are amazing,” she responded. “THRILLED for you!!” she concluded, along with the hashtags #BlackGirlMagic and #TheHalleLegacy.
You are amazing, THRILLED for you!! #BlackGirlMagic #TheHalleLegacy ♥️♥️♥️♥️ https://t.co/ybAE9JVvCn
— Halle Berry (@halleberry) July 4, 2019
Here’s a wild idea. Seeing as Berry’s name has already become accidentally attached to the new Little Mermaid and she and Bailey clearly get on, how about replacing King Triton, Ariel’s father from the animated movie, with her mother and casting Berry in the role? Just putting it out there, Disney.
Directed by Mary Poppins Returns’ Rob Marshall, The Little Mermaid also stars Melissa McCarthy as evil sea witch Ursula with Jacob Tremblay and Awkwafina providing the voices for Flounder and a gender-swapped Scuttle the seagull, respectively. It’s unknown who’s playing Prince Eric, Sebastian and other key roles at this time, but the pic is expected to start production in April 2020.