Noma Dumezweni, who plays a secret role in the upcoming live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, recently spoke with Variety about her experience on the film. She specifically discusses Halle Bailey and Jonah Hauer-King as Ariel and Prince Eric:
“There’s a moment when the camera zooms in and you see both of them. I was watching on a monitor and was like, ‘If that’s not iconic, I have no taste.’”
Also in the interview, Demuzweni called the pair “f*cking adorable. They’re just so sweet together.”
Until now, it has been thought that Dumezweni will be playing Ariel’s mother in the film. However, the fact that she is watching these scenes on a monitor implies that she is a character living on land, as it is unlikely that they would be filming both land and underwater scenes on the same day. Because her role is being kept under wraps, we can only speculate at this point.
The film is currently in production, with location shoots happening on the Italian island of Sardinia.
Directed by Rob Marshall (Mary Poppins Returns), The Little Mermaid stars Halle Bailey as Ariel. The film will feature the original music by Alan Menken in addition to new songs co-written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The cast also includes Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric, Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, and Javier Bardem as King Triton. Emily Coates, Jessica Alexander, Jude Akuwudike, Noma Dumezweni, Russell Balogh, and Adrian Christopher have also joined the cast in unnamed roles. No release date for the film has been announced.
