It was a roller coaster of emotions for Harry Styles and The Little Mermaid fans yesterday (August 13, 2019), as the singer and actor was rumored to have signed on to play Prince Eric in Disney’s upcoming live-action reboot of its 1989 animated classic and then, just as quickly, those rumors were shut down.
First, Disney fan blog the DisInsider reported that Styles had been cast, which was not unexpected after The Hollywood Reporter said last month that Styles was in “early negotiations” to play Ariel’s love interest. Both AMC Theatres and Regal Cinemas tweeted the news, and Twitter was pumped.
Soon the theater chains deleted their tweets and a new report from The Wrap contradicted the casting news: Styles had turned down an offer to join the cast, people with knowledge of the situation said. Variety later confirmed.
Sources say the initial reports about his casting were premature and that Styles made the decision to move on amicably. The studio has already begun looking at others for the part and, according to sources, a decision should come shortly.
This was the range of emotions that occurred after the world found out that Harry Styles would not be Prince Eric after all.
It was revealed last month that Halle Bailey, an actress on TV’s Grown-ish and a performer with the duo Chloe x Halle, would portray Ariel.
