The Little Mermaid, Disney's Halle Bailey-led live-action remake of the 1989 animated classic, has been a huge success. At the time of writing, the film has made just under $418 million worldwide since its May 24 release. Despite underwhelming performances in East Asian markets, Disney has yet another smash hit on their hands. By comparison, the original film made $211 million. Currently, The Little Mermaid is the 76th highest grossing Disney film of all time. However, the poor Asian perfomance may prevent the film from crossing the billion-dollar mark. All of Disney's other live action remakes, The Lion King, Aladdin, and Beauty and the Beast, all made at least $1 Billion at the box office.
One response to this is rumors of more live-action remakes. Most recently, film outlets are reporting that Disney is moving forward with a live-action remake of Bambi. However, it appears that Disney is also eager to capitalize on the newfound appeal of its Little Mermaid IP. This means that fans are about to get a lot more of the reimagined character.
Little Mermaid Prequel Greenlit on Disney Junior
Multiple outlets have reported that Disney has greenlit Ariel, a new animated series that will serve as a prequel to The Little Mermaid. Aimed at a preschool audience and premiering on Disney Junior, Ariel will follow the eponymous mermaid princess during her early years. The show will reportedly include appearances from the likes of King Triton, Ursula, Flounder, and other fan-favorite characters.
The show is in the earliest stages of development and will be impacted by the ongoing WGA strike. Therefore, very few details are known about the project. However, due to the jump back in time, it's unlikely that Halle Bailey will be returning to the project. It's one of several projects that Disney has commissioned in line with the release of The Little Mermaid. A number of books depicting a Black Ariel have also been released. No release window for the show has been announced. Furthermore, as mentioned, unless work was already completed, the WGA strike will hold up development on this project. Follow all the latest entertainment news here at HotNewHipHop.
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