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Director Rob Marshall recently got candid about not casting pop star Harry Styles as Prince Eric in Disney’s upcoming The Little Mermaid live-action remake. Based on the classic 1989 animated film of the same name, the 2023 musical stars Halle Bailey as Ariel, a mermaid princess of the underwater kingdom of Atlantica. When Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King) nearly drowns in a shipwreck, the titular character takes it upon herself and saves the prince.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Marshall explained why Styles was not cast as Prince Eric in Disney’s latest The Little Mermaid adaptation. The director praised the former One Direction singer, calling him “wonderful.” However, Marshall shared that Styles’ cinematic career path was focused away from musicals. Read what the director said below:
“We met with him. He was lovely. What a wonderful guy. But at the end of the day, he really felt like he wanted to go off and do the movies that he ended up doing, which were sort of darker.”
“For a lot of young musical people like Harry, you’re trying to carve your way and you don’t wanna be seen as a singer, necessarily. That’s why he was really looking to do something not in the musical genre, to really stretch himself. It was really a fun idea to play with, but in the end, I always think things happen for a reason. I’m so happy to have two young, new people in the film.”
Would Harry Have Worked as Prince Eric?
Styles began his career as a contestant on The X Factor UK and took the world by storm when he and four other contestants were placed together in the musical group One Direction. After serving with the group for six years, recording some of the world’s best-selling albums during that time, Styles continued his success as a solo artist. He soon decided to test his acting chops by taking a significant role in Christopher Nolan’s World War II historical-action film, Dunkirk. He has since starred in Olivia Wilde’s psychological thriller Don’t Worry Darling and in the romantic drama My Policeman as the lead.
With only a handful of acting credits under his belt, Styles has already proven that he can hold his own in front of the camera. Coupled with his award-winning musical ability, the singer would have fit the role of The Little Mermaid‘s Prince Eric with ease. Already seen by the public as charming, Styles’ personality appears to match that needed for the lovelorn prince.
As evident in both Dunkirk and Don’t Worry Darling, Styles carries an intensity that could have added a dramatic quality to Prince Eric, unseen in the original The Little Mermaid film. Where the character felt like an archetype of a fairy tale prince in the animated movie, Styles’ could have enhanced Eric with a layered performance. Despite the not casting Styles, Hauer-King shines as Prince Eric in the latest The Little Mermaid trailer, teasing a strong performance when the film lands in theaters May 26.
Source: EW
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