The two latest additions to Disney's family of live-action movie princesses have nothing but love and support for one another. In May, we'll be seeing Halle Bailey introduced as a new incarnation of Ariel in the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid. Meanwhile, Rachel Zegler will play the live-action Snow White when Disney's remake of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs hits theaters in 2024.
Changing the ethnicity of established characters, even fictional ones, has long been a source of controversy with fans. The social media criticism was also there for both Bailey and Zegler, but on the other side of the coin, there's been a lot of praise for how these casting choices are big steps forward for both Hollywood and Disney. Speaking with THR while promoting her new film Shazam! Fury of the Gods, Zegler commented on the situation, speaking on how "proud" she is of her fellow Disney princess. Zegler also stresses how important this is for the countless children out there in the world for whom the casting really makes a difference.
As Zegler puts it:
"I'm so proud of Halle. I'm so proud of everything that she's going to be doing for little Black girls, and little Black kids in general, who are going to see themselves in her, on screen. It's such a beautiful thing. Representation is so important on such a huge medium, like a Disney film, so I really truly believe that we're turning a corner when it comes to rep in movies like that. And Halle is the reason for the season!"
Zegler has been there in the past to stick up for Bailey as well. At one point, there were trolls on social media banding together to condemn the casting with the hashtag #NotMyAriel. Zegler jumped in to say that if you "don't support my girl Halle, who is the perfect Ariel, you don't support any of us."
Filmakers Say Halle Bailey Was the Best Choice for the Role
While the casting is wonderful for representation in film, director Rob Marshall is also rejecting any suggestions that Bailey was cast simply because of her skin color. He previously told Entertainment Weekly that there was no agenda whatsoever when it came to casting Ariel, noting that they had screened a wide variety of Ariel hopefuls of "every ethnicity." The filmmakers weren't exactly dead-set on casting a Black Ariel in particular, but that's what happened when Bailey blew everyone away with her audition.
As Marshall explained:
"We just were looking for the best actor for the role, period. The end. We saw everybody and every ethnicity... That voice is something that is so signature and so ethereal and so beautiful that it captures the heart of Eric, and he looks for her for the entire film... Halle still had that freshness in herself. As soon as we cast her, we were really thinking in terms of how we can make this her Ariel."
The Little Mermaid with Halle Bailey will be released on May 26, 2023, while Snow White with Rachel Zegler is set to hit theaters on March 22, 2024. No footage has yet been released for the latter, but you can check out the trailer for the former below.