Disney's live-action Little Mermaid finally gets its Prince Eric
And after all that Harry Styles hype, it's someone we've never heard of.
- I've been covering technology and mobile for 12 years, first as a telecommunications reporter and assistant editor at ZDNet in Australia, then as CNET's West Coast head of breaking news, and now in the Thought Leadership team.
Jonah Hauer-King with Stranger Things' Maya Hawke.
It's been a minute, but Disney has finally cast the role of Prince Eric three months after Harry Styles turned down the live-action Little Mermaid movie gig. Ariel's seafaring prince will be played by Jonah Hauer-King, CNET sister site ET reported Tuesday night.
The 24-year-old actor had two screen tests to get the role, Variety reported. He previously starred in PBS' Little Women TV series alongside Stranger Things' Maya Hawke, according to IMDb.
When Styles declined to be the Eric to Halle Bailey's Ariel, the internet began debating who could be the prince in Disney's upcoming live-action remake of The Little Mermaid. We even put together a list of our Prince Eric hopefuls, headlined by Dev Patel, Gavin Leatherwood, Kota Ibushi, Chace Crawford, Joe Keery and John Cena.
Disney confirmed the casting of Bailey, of the R&B duo Chloe x Halle, in July. "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," the movie's director Rob Marshall, of Mary Poppins Returns, said at the time.
The remake of 1989's under-the-sea adventure will also star comedian and actress Melissa McCarthy as villain Ursula, Javier Bardem as King Triton, Daveed Diggs as singing crab Sebastian, Jacob Tremblay as Flounder the nervous fish and Awkwafina as Scuttle the seagull who helps Ariel misidentify her thingamabobs, whozits and whatzits.
It will include songs from the original animated movie by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, in addition to new songs by Menken and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Production is expected to begin in early 2020. Disney has yet to release a trailer or confirm a release date, but it does have three live-action movies scheduled for March, July and October 2021, and another four slated for 2022.
