Actor Halle Bailey will be next seen as Princess Ariel in the upcoming live-action film The Little Mermaid. Speaking about working in the project, the actor revealed that the role demanded her to be in the water for 13 hours for some parts of the shooting.
While speaking to the Edition magazine, the actor revealed, “I pushed myself as far as I’ve ever pushed myself in life. And I feel like the message from [Ariel] was to know that you’ve always had it in you.”
The Little Mermaid explores the fairy tale of Princess Ariel who is the daughter of King Triton. After she falls in love with Prince Eric, who she saves from a shipwreck, the central character is determined to meet him again. As she takes the help of witch Ursula and pays heavy fees to get transformed into a human, the tale explores her trials and tribulations to meet her wants.
Halle also revealed that the upcoming film will take a modern route to the fairy tale. Addressing a latest criticism on the tale that the only reason Ariel wishes to go out of the ocean is because of her love for a boy. “I’m really excited for my version of the film because we’ve definitely changed that perspective of just her wanting to leave the ocean for a boy. It’s way bigger than that. It’s about herself, her purpose, her freedom, her life and what she wants. As women we are amazing, we are independent, we are modern, we are everything and above. And I’m glad that Disney is updating some of those themes.”
Jude Akuwudike, Daveed Diggs, Jacob Tremblay, Awkwafina, Simone Ashley, Noma Dumezwani, Russell Balogh, Jessica Alexander, are also part of the cast. The Little Mermaid is helmed by Rob Marshall with screenplay by Jane Goldman and David Magee. The film will release on May 26.
