'The Little Mermaid’ Remake Starring Halle Bailey is Coming in 2023

Disney have announced the release date for the upcoming live-action remake of the animated classic ‘The Little Mermaid.’ 

dream come true... 🧜🏽‍♀️🌊 pic.twitter.com/sndjYUS6wO

— chloe x halle (@chloexhalle) July 3, 2019

The film will hit theatres on May 26th 2023. Disney have yet to announce if it will made available to stream on Disney+, as many of the studio’s recent releases like Mulan and Black Widow been. 

we have a date 🥺🥺🤭🤭🥰🥰 https://t.co/BfjC9QlE9h

— Halle (@HalleBailey) September 11, 2021

Starring as the titular heroine is Halle Bailey, Grown-ish star and the other half of R&B group Chloe x Halle, in her theatrical debut. The film will also star Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, Awkwafina as Scuttle, Javier Bardem as King Triton, Jacob Tremblay as Flounder, Daveed Diggs as Sebastian and Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric. 

The announcement of Bailey’s casting in the lead role was one that received an unprecedented amount of backlash online. Many expressed that this outrage was rooted in racist rhetoric - pointing out that Bailey does not have red hair - despite the mermaid’s signature color being an unnatural shade. 

Buzzfeed writer and curator Brandon Wall posted a tweet debunking the viral post which directed hate towards Bailey, explaining that the account was in fact fradulent.

One more: The pic of the Little Mermaid DVD the account tweeted came from this tiny YouTube unboxing channel, video was uploaded in 2016 https://t.co/eReuWRisa0 pic.twitter.com/qeR9qGpmne

— Brandon Wall (@Walldo) July 4, 2019

The Little Mermaid hits theatres on May 26th. Stay tuned for more news and updates.