Zendaya Is Reportedly In Talks With Disney To Play Ariel In 'The Little Mermaid'

23 August 2018, 12:23 | Updated: 6 October 2020, 11:58

We need this to happen...

It's no secret that The Little Mermaid is one of Disney's most beloved animated films. From its incredible soundtrack ('Under The Sea', 'Kiss the Girl' and 'Part Of Your World' are all next level bops) to its heartwarming storyline (Romeo and Juliet take notes), no film compares. And then there's the characters - Ursula is one of the greatest villains of all time, Sebastian is our favourite sidekick ever and Ariel is that bitch.

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Taking all of that into consideration, it's no surprise that people are eager for Disney to give The Little Mermaid the live action treatment. They've already remade Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast and new versions of The Lion King and Dumbo are on their way, so it only seems fair that The Little Mermaid gets recreated too. And it's actually happening.

To make things even more exciting, Zendaya is apparently in line to play Ariel.

Deadline revealed earlier this year that Disney have paired up Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton, Moana) with Alan Menken (The Little Mermaid, Hercules) to write songs for a new live action adaptation of the 1989 musical. Not only that but Lin-Manuel will produce the film with Marc Platt (La La Land, Legally Blonde). And now That Hashtag Show is reporting that Zendaya "has been offered the role of Ariel".

Considering Zendaya's Disney background (Shake It Up) and vocal prowess ('Replay'), we couldn't think of anyone better for the role. Plus Disney films have often been criticised for their lack of diversity and giving the part of Ariel to a woman of colour would help to work against that.

Unsurprisingly, the internet is already obsessed with the rumour. Here are just a few of the reactions.

Some people are shook.

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Us too tbh.

Others are already telling Disney that they better not cast anyone else.

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Zendaya deserves this role.

A couple of people are already anticipating the backlash from racists.

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There is literally no reason why Ariel can't be played by a woman of colour.

And many fans are already celebrating what this would mean for the rest of the cast.

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Amazing.

Disney simply doesn't have enough non-white princesses as it stands.

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Representation matters.

And last but not least people are gushing over the thought of hearing Zendaya sing those Disney classics.

Imagine!

As it stands Disney and Zendaya are yet to comment on the rumours but we shall update you as soon as they do. There are currently four The Little Mermaid remakes in the works but we trust that Disney will come through with the goods.