Please respect our privacy at this time, as we mourn Harry Style’s decision to pass on Disney’s live-action remake of The Little Mermaid.
After flocking to social media and believing the seemingly confirmed rumors that our favorite One Direction alum had been cast as Prince Eric, our dreams were short-lived.
Sources confirmed to Variety, the singer had “respectfully” declined the offer.
To say fans are crushed is an understatement.
The reactions on Twitter are a tad dramatic.
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Some felt like clowns for believing the buzz.
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While the studio begins to look at others for the part, may we (and all of Twitter) suggest Timothée Chalamet??
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Even though Disney has been cranking out live-action versions of their classic animated films for years now, The Little Mermaid is getting extra attention.
The original version of Disney’s The Little Mermaid came out in 1989, and started what would later be known as Disney’s “Renaissance Era.” It was soon followed by Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin, both of which have already had their live-action movie premieres.
The Little Mermaid live-action initially made waves with their casting choice for Ariel.
In the original animated version, Ariel was a red-headed, white teenage girl, while in the live action the role went to black actress and singer Halle Bailey — who happens to have the voice of an angel, we might add.
Bailey truly captures the entire essence of Ariel, and though many fans were thrilled by the casting decision, the news still made some people angry. In the end, Bailey is an amazing choice for the role and we can’t wait to see her shine!
And when you see Bailey, you can see just why executives chose her. She totally looks like a Disney princess! And when the Hollywood Reporter did the homework, they learned that while headlines ran wild with the story of discontent about her casting, only 17% of people polled said they full-on opposed Bailey taking the role.
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Earlier this week, people on Twitter freaked out about an entirely different casting decision.
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It was practically confirmed Styles would play Ariel’s love interest. And it made sense, since his vocals are fire.
If the name doesn’t ring a bell, you might want to brush up on your boy-band knowledge. Harry was one of the original members of One Direction, a band formed on the British version of The X-Factor.
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He’s since gone solo and experimented with film roles, appearing in the 2017 film Dunkirk.
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This movie wouldn’t have been his first big release, but people had a lot of opinions on Twitter.
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For fans of Styles — and there’s plenty of them — said it almost felt like a dream come true. Finally, their boy-band crush would be a true Disney prince!
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Others don’t really see it. While Styles has the impressive mane of Prince Eric, he’s not an exact match.
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But really, it would’ve been a refreshing change the movie totally needed. Both Styles and Bailey are truly gifted singers.
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Curious about their age difference? It’s always been a little unclear in the original version of The Little Mermaid.
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He looked like an adult, but people are pegging Prince Eric as initially being 18 while Ariel was 16.
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You might not know this, but Disney didn’t originally create The Little Mermaid. They just made it more memorable.
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In the original story, which was written by Hans Christian Andersen, Ariel was able to rise above the surface as a benefit of celebrating her 15th birthday. Currently, Bailey is 19 years old and Styles is 25.
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Rumors first started about Styles signing onto the film back in July, after losing out on the role of Elvis. He was in the running, but the part of the iconic singer, who’s the main focus in an upcoming Baz Luhrmann biopic, went to actor Austin Butler instead.
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Some fans, however, knew to question whether the “confirmation” was true, since the excitement rose without Disney or Styles’s comment.
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Regardless, it’s made people see Styles in a new light. He’s not just a pop star — he’s also working his way up to becoming a leading actor.
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Without a doubt, The Little Mermaid is going to be a successful film. In case you haven’t heard, The Lion King pulled in massive, record-breaking profits — and they stayed pretty true to the original film.
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While we support Harry in all of his decisions, we’d be lying to say this isn’t disappointing. The chemistry between him and Bailey could’ve been magical.
Sigh. Maybe this is for the best. Perhaps Harry wants to focus on creating another album?