Halle Berry Praises Halle Bailey For ‘Little Mermaid’ Casting

When the news broke on Wednesday that singer and actress Halle Bailey would be playing Ariel in the new live-action “The Little Mermaid,” more than a few confused readers confused the rising star for X-Men alum, Halle Berry. Capitalizing on this confusion, Berry, 52, took to Twitter to congratulate the young actress on her accomplishment.

Bailey offered her thanks in response.

Bailey, 19, is best known as one-half of Chloe x Halle, an R&B duo that also includes her sister, Chloe. Bailey has made appearances in films like “The Last Holiday” and a role on Disney Channel's original series “Austin & Ally.” Most recently, she played the character Sky Forster on “Grown-ish.” “The Little Mermaid” will be her biggest role yet by a wide margin.

Disney’s remake of the 1989 animated musical is gearing up to begin production with “Mary Poppins Returns” director Rob Marshall at the helm. Bailey joins a cast that looks to include Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, Jacob Tremblay as Flounder, and Awkwafina as Scuttle.

After the roaring success of the live-action takes on “Beauty and the Beast” and “Aladdin,” plus the mounting anticipation for “The Lion King,” Disney is likely looking to capitalize on the beloved films of its Renaissance period. “The Little Mermaid” is widely considered to have kickstarted that period, grossing over $211 million worldwide when it released 30 years ago. Its template of loosely adapting a fairy tale or folk story into a crowd-pleasing musical became Disney’s gold standard, and is still used today on films like “Tangled” and “Frozen.”

"The Little Mermaid" does not currently have a release date.