Casting Alert: Jonah Hauer-King Joins the ‘Little Mermaid’ Remake as Prince Eric

After months of rumors, gossip and thingamabobs, Disney has finally found its Prince Eric.

Jonah Hauer-King will play Ariel’s two-legged boyfriend in the all-new live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, according to The Wrap. (The British actor is best known for appearing in projects like The Last Photograph, A Dog’s Way Home, Howards End, World on Fire and the Little Women miniseries.)

Hauer-King will star alongside R&B singer Halle Bailey (Ariel), who will make history as the first black woman to play the Disney princess.

Several other celebs are in talks to join the cast of The Little Mermaid, including Jacob Tremblay (Room) as Flounder, Awkwafina (Crazy Rich Asians) as Scuttle, Javier Bardem (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales) as King Triton and Melissa McCarthy (Can You Ever Forgive Me?) as Ursula.

Rumors about Prince Eric casting details have been circulating for months. It all started back in August when we learned that Harry Styles turned down the iconic role. After the news broke, several actors spoke out about their interest in playing Prince Eric.

Not only did Christian Navarro (13 Reasons Why) audition for the live-action remake, but Graham Phillips also showed interest in the role after starring in Disney’s The Little Mermaid Live!

The upcoming version of The Little Mermaid will be directed by Rob Marshall (Mary Poppins Returns). It will feature original songs from the 1989 animated movie, as well as new tunes by Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton) and the movie’s original composer, Alan Menken. David Magee (Mary Poppins Returns) penned the script for the remake, which is expected to begin production in early 2020.

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