Wouldn't you think Disney's collection of live-action remakes is complete? Not quite yet — there's still The Little Mermaid.
Disney has dropped the first trailer for its live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, revealing our first look at Halle Bailey as Ariel. The short teaser takes us under the sea and builds to a powerful rendition of the iconic song "Part of Your World."
The footage was revealed amid Disney's D23 expo, where the entire "Part of Your World" scene was shown. Eric Goldman of Fandom tweeted the full sequence looked "insanely great," and Bailey took the stage to enthusiastic applause from the crowd. She described shooting the "Part of Your World" sequence over three days as the "most beautiful experience of my life." The 22-year-old is primarily known for her work with her sister in the R&B duo Chloe x Halle.
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"Feeling all of the feelings that she feels, her passion, her discomfort, everything that she was experiencing, it was so exciting for me to play those emotions," Bailey said, adding, "Just getting to sing a song I've loved ever since I was a child was really exciting."
The Little Mermaid remake was directed by Rob Marshall, who previously helmed Disney's Mary Poppins Returns, and it also stars Javier Bardem as King Triton, Daveed Diggs as Sebastian, Jacob Tremblay as Flounder, and Melissa McCarthy as Ursula. It hits theaters in May 2023.
The Little Mermaid is also among the last films of Disney's "renaissance" era that had yet to be remade after live-action versions of Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King were all box office hits. But a Snow White remake starring Rachel Zegler is also on the way, as is a prequel to the live-action Lion King remake titled Mufasa. Clearly, Disney's live-action reimaginings will be part of our world for years to come.
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