Lin-Manuel Miranda continues to speak with the press regarding his hit 2021 films Encanto and Tick Tick Boom! and while doing so, he is revealing a lot of fun tidbits on Disney’s live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid.
Miranda was a guest on Variety’s Awards Circuit Podcast and he revealed that one of Halle Bailey’s new songs will take place when she is on land in her human form.
“Rob found a creative way to hear from Ariel, even though she is sans voice for a little while. We wrote some music for her time on land. She experiences a lot of firsts, as someone with legs for the first time. We got to lean into all of that musically.”
Some additional tidbits from the interview include how their is a possible rap number from Sebastian, who is voiced by Miranda’s Hamilton co-star Daveed Diggs. If true, I wonder if this will be a part of ”Under The Sea.” Will Smith’s Genie in 2019’s Aladdin had a little rap number for ”Friend Like Me,” a piece that was not in the 1992 animated classic.
Read: Alan Menken Has Seen a Rough Cut of ’The Little Mermaid’
Directed by Rob Marshall (Into The Woods), The Little Mermaid will feature the original music by Alan Menken (Tangled and 1989’s The Little Mermaid) in addition to four brand new songs co-written by Lin-Manuel Miranda (Encanto). The cast also includes Jonah Hauer-King (A Dog’s Way Home) as Prince Eric, Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids) as Ursula, and Javier Bardem (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales) as King Triton. Also set to star is Emily Coates, Jessica Alexander, Jude Akuwudike, Noma Dumezweni, Russell Balogh, and Adrian Christopher.
Released in 1989, Disney’s animated classic centered on a young mermaid named Ariel, who is captivated by the world upon the surface. When she falls in love with a human prince, she makes a deal with a villainous sea witch to become human, herself, and earn his love before the agreed time runs out.
The Little Mermaid swims into theaters on May 26, 2023.
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