Disney’s The Little Mermaid remake sails into theaters on May 26, 2023, and there’s a lot of anticipation surrounding the live-action adaptation of the 1989 animated film of the same name.
The film is starred by Halle Bailey, Jonah Hauer-King, Javier Bardem, and Melissa McCarthy, with Daveed Diggs, Jacob Tremblay, and Awkwafina in voice roles produced by Rob Marshall, John DeLuca, Marc Platt, and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
© Getty ImagesMiranda will also co-write new songs for the remake. “We wrote three or four tunes, original, replacing none of the ones you like. All of those are in,” the lyricist said during an appearance on the Variety Awards Circuit podcast.
Adding, “there is no bigger ‘Little Mermaid’ fan than me, and the songs that I love that are in this movie are in this movie! They’re all in. But we found a couple of opportunities for some other music, and I can’t wait to see it. I’m as in the dark as anyone else, honestly.”
According to Miranda, although Ariel is voiceless in parts of the film, Marshall came up with ideas on making the musical aspect extra special. “I will tell you that [director] Rob [Marshall] found a really creative way to hear from Ariel even though she is sans voice for a little while, and we wrote some music in her time on land that was really exciting,” Miranda said. “Because, you know, she gets to experience a lot of firsts as someone with legs for the first time, so we got to lean into all of that musically, which was exciting.”
Miranda is celebrating another milestone. Encanto is Disneyland parade’s latest addition. As we previously reported an Encanto ’s Disneyland attraction is in the talks thanks to the multi-hyphenate star. The actor, singer-songwriter, playwright, and film director already suggested that Disney’s CEO Bob Chapek have the film’s magical house inside the theme park.
Although it is unknown if Chapek, a.k.a our unbottled genie, will grant Miranda’s wishes, he has referred to Encanto as “the company’s new animated franchise” —which technically means that more things are coming. Among those things is the inclusion of the animated film’s characters in the park’s upcoming night-bright Main Street Electrical Parade.
