Despite the coronavirus putting a hold on nearly every big Hollywood movie currently in production, The Little Mermaid composer Alan Menken has confirmed that the soundtrack to Disney’s new live action remake has been recorded. The new version will see the return of old favorites like “Part of Your World”, “Poor Unfortunate Souls”, and “Under The Sea”, as well as four totally new songs, including a solo for Prince Eric.
Alan Menken, who has been composing for Disney films since 1989 with the original Little Mermaid, is joined by Lin-Manuel Miranda of Hamilton fame, who previously worked on the music for 2016’s Moana. The movie will star Halle Bailey as the eponymous Ariel, Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric, and Daveed Diggs (another Hamilton alumnus) as the voice of Sebastian the Crab. It will be directed by Rob Marshall, who also directed the Academy Award winning Chicago (2002).
Despite this progress, filming for The Little Mermaid has been halted by the coronavirus pandemic. Principal photography was supposed to begin in April in England. The coronavirus outbreak has also caused Disney to press pause on the productions of Peter Pan & Wendy, Shrunk, a sequel to 1989’s Honey, I Shrunk The Kids, and Marvel’s Shang-Li and the Legend of the Ten Rings.