On Sunday (March 12), Disney unveiled the official trailer for the forthcoming live-action remake of The Little Mermaid. Premiered during the 2023 Oscars, the clip shows Halle Bailey as the iconic Ariel, who saves Eric — played by Jonah Hauer-King — during a storm. The rest of the trailer introduces viewers to updated versions of other characters that originally appeared in the 1989 animated film of the same name.
Bailey shared an emotional tweet following said trailer’s big reveal. “I’m crying and I’m late, but i can’t believe we got to debut the full trailer at the Oscars,” she said.
As previously reported by REVOLT, the long-awaited movie’s filming wrapped back in 2021. “After auditioning for this film when I was 18 [and] just about to turn 19, to now finishing filming through a pandemic when I turned 21… We have finally made it,” she exclaimed. “I feel so grateful to have experienced this film in all of its glory.”
The Little Mermaid marks Bailey’s official foray onto the big screen following a couple of small roles in 2006’s Last Holiday and 2012’s Let It Shine. In 2018, she and her sister, Chloe Bailey, joined the cast of the sitcom “grown·ish,” a Yara Shahidi-led spinoff of “black·ish.” Halle also appeared in different Disney specials, including “The Disney Holiday Singalong” and “The Most Magical Story on Earth: 50 Years of Walt Disney World.” In an interview with Variety, she opened up about taking on new and different roles.
“I find myself learning things from these characters, and trying to adopt them, and keep them with me as I go about my life,” Halle said. “It’s like the universe is trying to give these themes to me, like, ‘Here, do it! We’re putting it in through the characters.'”
Check out the full trailer for The Little Mermaid below, which lands in theaters May 26.