Former One Direction member Harry Styles has decided to turn down the opportunity to play the role of Prince Eric in Disney’s forthcoming live-action remake of The Little Mermaid.
Prince Eric is the male main character in the original film, the human Ariel falls in love with after she sees him for the first time sailing above her ‘home’. She then saves him after the ship wrecks and makes a deal with the evil sea witch Ursula and exchanges her beautiful voice for legs to go out of the sea and make Eric fall in love with her.
Even though Eric almost didn’t sing any song in the original film, Styles would have been able to show off his charming voice anyway, as Disney was planning to write some new songs for Styles to sing either alone or in a duet with Halle Bailey, the actor who will play the role of Ariel in the remake.
A few weeks ago, Harry Styles was reportedly in early negotiations to play Ariel’s love interest in the new Disney remake and fans were really excited about it. However, according to The Wrap, “individuals with knowledge of the project” said that “Styles is a fan of the project but respectfully declined”.
Reports suggesting he had joined the cast circulated just a few hours before actual news about Styles passing on the role were shared. Needless to say, the announcement has left a lot of people very disappointed, as many fans wanted to see him playing the iconic Disney role and they had even started campaigning for Styles to get into the project.
Other actors like Javier Bardem, Melissa McCarthy and Jacob Tremblay have been rumoured to be playing different roles in the upcoming film. It looks like Bardem could be starring as Ariel’s father Triton, while McCarthy will be playing the role of Ursula and Tremblay the role of Ariel’s friend Flounder.
#Peace.Love.HarryStyles
