Last month it was reported that British singer Harry Styles was considering joining the cast of the upcoming The Little Mermaid remake. Initially rumors suggested that Styles would be playing the part of Ariel’s love interest Prince Eric, but recently some news has revealed that the singer will not be signing on to this movie.
According to The Wrap, Styles has decided to turned down the role of Prince Eric, although he is still very supportive of the movie’s production. At this time, it is still unknown who will actually be playing Eric, but Disney has confirmed that Halle Bailey will be playing Ariel, the titular mermaid. Other possible cast members from Disney include Melissa McCarthy possibly playing Ursula the sea witch, as well as the potential casting of Javier Bardem as Ariel’s father King Triton.
While Styles made his film debut in Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk, he’s still mostly known for his singing career as a member of the boyband, One Direction. Ironically, however, in the original 1989 animated adaptation of The Little Mermaid Prince Eric never actually received a song to sing so, unless Disney was planning on giving the character a song much like Jasmine in the Aladdin live-action remake, casting a singer like Harry Styles probably wasn’t necessary.