Halle Bailey is following in the footsteps of her mentor, Beyonce, and is joining a Disney remake.
Variety reported that the Chloe X Halle singer has been cast as Ariel in Disney's reboot of its 1989 animated film "The Little Mermaid."
"After an extensive search, it was abundantly clear that Halle possesses that rare combination of spirit, heart, youth, innocence, and substance — plus a glorious singing voice — all intrinsic qualities necessary to play this iconic role," director Rob Marshall said in a statement, according to Variety.
Bailey responded to the news in a tweet that read, "dream come true..." and included an image of a black Ariel-like mermaid.
Halle Bailey is half of the R&B duo Chloe X Halle, which includes her older sister Chloe Bailey. The two were discovered by Beyonce and signed to her Parkwood Entertainment company after performing covers of her songs and those of others and posting them on YouTube.
This will be Halle Bailey's first major solo venture. She and her sister co-star in the Freeform sitcom "grown-ish" and also perform the theme for the show.
"The Little Mermaid" reboot is being produced by Marshall, Marc Platt, John DeLuca and Lin-Manuel Miranda. Miranda who will work with original composer Alan Menken on new tunes. The film will also include songs from the original. Menken most recently co-wrote new songs for the 2019 remake of Disney's "Aladdin."
According to a Monday report from Deadline, Jacob Tremblay and Awkwafina are in talks to play Flounder and Scully the Seagul, respectively. Melissa McCarthy is reportedly in talks to play Ursula.
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