Christine Haveford
A huge congratulations goes out to Halle Bailey!
The 19-year-old has landed the coveted lead role in Disney’s live-action version of The Little Mermaid.
The Grammy-nominated singer was discovered and signed by Beyonce back in 2013, along with her sister Chloe, 21.
“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,” director Rob Marshall said in a statement.
Halle confirmed the groundbreaking news on Twitter, giving fans a look at the new look African American Ariel.
“dream come true…” she captioned.
Ariel wore her signature purple shell bikini with green bottoms. But this time the much loved mermaid has dark skin, brown eyes and black rather than red hair.
Production on the film is expected to start in early 2020.
Meanwhile many celebrities took to social media to congratulate Halle.
Euphoria actress Zendaya tweeted she was “here for thisssss!” and Maddie Baillio thought it was “perfect casting.”
The movie will also see Room actor Jacob Tremblay, 12, play Ariel’s best bud, Flounder, and Awkwafina, 31, as seagull, Scuttle.
Alan Menken, the man behind the scores of the original 1989 film, will team up with Lin-Manuel Miranda for the music.
The Hamilton star confirmed Halle’s role on Wednesday, taking to Twitter to share the incredible news.
Retweeting a published article, he added: ‘Oh, hey, meet Ariel!’
As Halle Bailey celebrated her new role, she became the number one trending topic.
But some of the warm feelings were sent to the wrong person, as several online well-wishers hilariously mistook her for Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry, 52.
Berry herself 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! #TheLittleMermaid #HalleBailey.”
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