The Little Mermaid star Halle Bailey has landed her next movie role in a coming-of-age musical from singer-songwriter Pharrell Williams.
Directed by Michel Gondry, the currently untitled Universal project is set in the summer of 1977 and is inspired by Williams' childhood neighbourhood in Virginia Beach (via The Hollywood Reporter).
Elvis star Kelvin Harrison Jr. and The Holdovers' Da'Vine Joy Randolph, who recently picked up an Academy Award for her performance in the film, will join Bailey for the upcoming blockbuster.
What to Read Next
Related: How to get Disney and LEGO's new Little Mermaid castle with Ariel
Toy Story 4 writer Martin Hynes and Tick, Tick... Boom! executive producer Steven Levenson will pen the screenplay, with Mimi Valdés and Gil Netter on board to produce the film alongside Williams.
Following her success as Ariel in the Little Mermaid live-action remake last year, Bailey starred alongside Fantasia Barrino, Danielle Brooks and Colman Domingo in Oscar-nominated musical The Color Purple.
Based on Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and the stage musical of the same name, the movie tells the story of Celie Harris, a Black woman living in the American South in the early 1900s.
Related: The Little Mermaid's Halle Bailey recreates iconic Poetic Justice scene for Halloween
Since its release in January, the film has garnered largely positive reviews, receiving an impressive 82% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes (from 251 reviews) as of April 7.
Digital Spy praised the film for "empowering and showcasing Black sisterhood through its female supporting characters", but explained how the latest adaptation failed to explore Celie's sexuality and relationship with Shug Avery.
"[It is] a small step forward from Steven Spielberg's 1985 adaptation, which sees Shug (Margaret Avery) tell Celie (Whoopi Goldberg) she's beautiful and that she loves her ending with a kiss on the forehead, but more needs to be done to celebrate Celie's complexity and queerness," the review reads.
The Little Mermaid live-action movie and the animated movie are both streaming on Disney+. The Color Purple is out now in cinemas.
You Might Like...
Sara is an entertainment journalist who specialises in TV and film. After studying journalism at the University of Roehampton, Sara joined Digital Spy in 2023, writing news (and the occasional feature) on all things entertainment. She has also written for the culture desk at The Evening Standard. A lover of all things TV and film, Sara can wax lyrical about everything from Bridgerton to The Witcher. She can also recite entire episodes of New Girl, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Parks and Recreation. In her spare time, Sara loves to knit, crochet and cross-stitch. Also a musical theatre aficionado, Sara counts Samantha Barks as one of her heroes and is a loyal fan of Jodie Comer.
