A Dream Manifested: Halle Bailey Will Play Ariel in Disney’s Live Action Remake of ‘The Little Mermaid’

Halle Bailey to play Ariel in Disney’s Live Action Remake of ‘The Little Mermaid’ is a Dream Manifested                 

Halle Bailey of Chloe x Halle is ready to blossom in the Disney World.                                        

In Disney’s upcoming live action remake of The Little Mermaid, this is the first time that the studio has passed a woman of color in  the role of a traditional white princess character for one of its new remakes ( the film is expected to air in 2020).

Walt Disney Studios announced the decision this past Wednesday which proved to excite many fans on social media. Halle, 19, and her older sister Chloe, 21, are the duo Chloe x Halle that covered popular songs (especially Beyoncé songs) on YouTube. 

As a result, the sisters opened for Beyoncé in 2017 for a portion of her Formation World Tour (and they released their first studio album The Kids are Alright just last year!).  Bailey tweeted about the news  quoting the opportunity as a dream come true ( but seriously , this is one of the greatest things to happen in a really long time!).   

via Twitter

Disney has been investing in live action remakes for a number of classic films including Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King.

The most notable case of a woman of color to portray  a traditionally white princess was in 1997 when the singer Brandy Norwood was casted as Cinderella , which was a part of the wonderful world of Disney made for TV films (Whitney Houston also played the fairy godmother). 

Brandy Norwood as Disney’s Cinderella / Whitney Houston as Fairy God Mother via Cosmopolitan

Bailey, a black teen who has her hair in dreadlocks, and unapologetically herself as a Disney princess will really warm the hearts for generations of black girls who can now understand that they are in fact capable of getting shine.  The sky is the limit babes.   

cover image via Life & Style