The Teaser for The Little Mermaid Was Released and the First Wave of Reactions Are Here

Media titan Disney held its D23 Expo this past weekend, where it showcased updates on its parks, products, experiences, and of course, its new content. One of those new properties was a long-awaited update on Disney’s live-action The Little Mermaid. A new teaser of the Disney princess classic was released at the D23 Expo and we are all forever changed by Halle Bailey’s Ariel.

Have you finished tearing up yet? We haven’t. Swimming within the deep blue sea and longing to be where the people are, Bailey’s Ariel longs to be out of the water and up on land as she sings the last line of “Part of Your World”. The clip is only for a few minutes, but leaves you breathless when you hear Bailey sing as the little mermaid. 

Bailey has quickly become a household name. Being ½ of the Grammy-nominated music duo Chloe x Halle, a Beyoncé protege, and acting in Grown-ish, she’s stayed quite busy. 

Now she’s adding Disney princess to her resume, which has caused quite a stir online. But there are plenty of folks who are challenging the opposition and supporting the new Disney princess.

This isn’t the first time The Little Mermaid has shifted its characters for live action purposes. Auli’i Cravalho and Queen Latifah, both queer women of color, played Ariel and sea witch Ursula respectively in ABC’s The Little Mermaid Live! So this is nothing new. 

In addition to adding Black mermaids, Disney is also pretty gay. I mean the O.G. The Little Mermaid’s resident baddie, Ursula, is based on the drag queen Divine. Melissa McCarthy will now take on the iconic role. Joining Bailey and McCarthy on-screen will be Javier Bardem, Jonah Hauer-King, Simone Ashley, Jacob Tremblay, Awkwafina, and Daveed Diggs. 

Aside from a great cast, the internet is losing it over its star Bailey playing Ariel. Queer Twitter has plenty of anticipation for this soon-to-be box office hit. 

The Little Mermaid premieres in theaters on May 26, 2023.