Hollywood giant Disney knows black excellence when it sees it. The entertainment conglomerate has officially casted actress Halle Bailey to star in the upcoming live-action Little Mermaid movie.

After months of searching for its lead, Disney has 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)

The post Disney Recognizes Black Excellence + Casts Beyoncé Protégé Halle Bailey As Live-Action LITTLE MERMAID Lead Ariel appeared first on SOHH.com.

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