Little Mermaid trailer gives first look at Halle Bailey’s Ariel

Today, D23 saw Halle Bailey’s first appearance as Ariel in live-action. The brief trailer shows off some of the underwater realm Ariel hails from — but more importantly, shows off Bailey’s singing chops as she croons the ever-iconic “Part of Your World.”

Bailey plays Ariel and the live action is also available Little Mermaid stars Melissa McCarthy as conniving sea witch Ursula, Javier Bardem as overprotective King Triton, and Jonah Hauer-King as the dashing Prince Eric, with Daveed Diggs voicing musical crab Sebastian, Awkwafina voicing zany seagull Scuttle, and Jacob Tremblay voicing Flounder, Ariel’s worrywart best (fish) friend.

Rob Marshall is the director of this new film. He previously directedInto The Woods Mary Poppins Returns for Disney. Moana Encanto’s Lin-Manuel Miranda and Alan Menken, the composer behind the animated movie, will write four new songs.

Original Little Mermaid came out in 1989 and was largely responsible for kickstarting the Disney Renaissance and bringing the Broadway musical formula to the studio’s animated movies. Menken teamed up with Howard Ashman (respected lyricist) to create the songs.

The Little MermaidOn May 26, 2023, the movie will be released in theaters.