Zack Sharf Digital News Director “The Little Mermaid” director Rob Marshall confirmed in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly that he met with pop superstar Harry Styles to play the role of Prince Eric opposite Halle Bailey’s Ariel in Disney’s upcoming live-action remake.
Reports surfaced during the film’s casting process that Styles was being courted to play Prince Eric, but this is the first time Marshall has confirmed that discussions with the Grammy winner took place.
Why did Styles turn down Disney’s live-action “The Little Mermaid” remake? According to Marshall, the reason was twofold: He wanted to take on darker films and didn’t want to be in a musical as he made the jump from pop star to actor. “We met with him.
He was lovely. What a wonderful guy,” Marshall said about Styles. “But at the end of the day, he really felt like he wanted to go off and do the movies that he ended up doing, which were sort of darker.” “For a lot of young musical people like Harry, you’re trying to carve your way and you don’t wanna be seen as a singer, necessarily,” Marshall added. “That’s why he was really looking to do something not in the musical genre, to really stretch himself.
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