Halle Bailey cast as Ariel in Disney's 'The Little Mermaid' live-action remake

As of late, Disney have been making live-action versions of their animated classic. While they were only just picking up steam with the likes of Cinderella and Maleficient, things were really kicked into high gear with The Jungle Book, and 2019 has seen Dumbo and Aladdin get the remake treatment - with The Lion King still on its way later this month.

Here's that Lion King trailer again:

Another Disney classic that's making its way into live-action is The Little Mermaid. Not much is known about the specifics of this movie or when it's due to come out, but we do have some details.

First off, the film is to be directed by Rob Marshall, the director of Chicago - who also worked on Mary Poppins Returns and Into the Woods for Disney. And it looks like he's now found his lead actress to take on the role of Ariel: Halle Bailey.

Bailey is best known for her role in the sitcom Grown-ish, as well as half of the R&B duo Chloe x Halle. She shared the news of her casting on Twitter, writing that being cast as Ariel was "a dream come true".

The director has reportedly been spending the last few months meeting with various actresses to take on the role, but insiders have told Variety that Bailey was at the head of the pack from the outset.

"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," the director said in a statement, "all intrinsic qualities necessary to play this iconic role."

Halle Berry even chimed in to show her support for the actress, presumably given how many misread Bailey's name and thought she had been cast.

In addition to Bailey, Awkwafina and Jacob Tremblay are also in talks to star in the project, and Melissa McCarthy is reportedly up for the role of Ursula. The music will be a combination of old and new. Alan Menken, who scored the original 1989 classic, will be collaborating with Hamilton's Lin-Manuel Miranda for the new soundtrack.

Check out VT sitting down with Lin-Manuel Miranda to discuss everything Mary Poppins:

There's no release date set yet for the underwater adventure, but before then we've got Disney remakes of Lady and the Tramp, Mulan, and a Cruella movie to look forward to in 2020 - making The Little Mermaid likely to be out in 2021.

This article first appeared on VT.co and was shared with permission.