'Little Mermaid' Live-Action Has Found Its Prince Eric

Disney's live-action remake of The Little Mermaid has cast Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric - a week after Harry Styles confirmed he had turned down the role.

Many may recognise the British rising star from his recent stint in BBC war drama World On Fire opposite Oscar-winner Helen Hunt and Sean Bean.

The 24-year-old, who pipped fellow English actor Cameron Cuffe for the coveted role, previously played Laurie in 2017's Little Women BBC mini-series.

In July, it was announced that Halle Bailey would play the lead role of Ariel the mermaid.

If you've not heard of Halle, she's part of an R&B duo, Chloe x Halle, with her sister Chloe and also stars on Grown-ish as Sky.

Director of the reimagined flick Rob Marshall said of the casting at the time: "After an extensive search, it was abundantly clear that Halle possesses that rare combination of spirit, heart, youth, innocence, and substance - plus a glorious singing voice - all intrinsic qualities necessary to play this iconic role."

Scuttle the seagull will be played by Awkwafina, who many would know for her roles in Crazy Rich Asians and Ocean's Eight, while Melissa McCarthy will transform into sea witch Ursula and Javier Bardem as King Triton.

Other stars lined-up for the highly-anticipated remake include Room's Jacob Tremblay as the voice of Flounder and Hamilton star Daveed Diggs as Sebastian the crab.

The confirmation of Jonah's casting of Price Eric comes a week after Harry Styles confirmed last that he had turned down the role.

Appearing on Capital Breakfast, the 'Lights Up' hitmaker explained there were a "few things" that they couldn't work out and added that his upcoming plans for his music didn't align with the film's production schedule.

He said: "I think it's obviously going to be an amazing film. But they shoot for so long and I want to tour next year, maybe. I haven't announced that yet, but yeah, it just didn't quite line up."

The Little Mermaid is reported to go into production in 2020.

Featured Image Credit: Disney

Topics: TV News, TV Entertainment

Lisa McLoughlin

Lisa is a freelance journalist working for Tyla and the team's token Dubliner. After graduating with a MA in PR and Digital Marketing from D.I.T., she worked for MailOnline, Sun Online, Irish Independent and broadcaster RTÉ. Got a story of interest or want advice on how to pour the perfect pint of Guinness? Then email her at [email protected].

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