The Exciting Reason Why Harry Styles Turned Down the Role of Prince Eric in Disney’s ‘The Little Mermaid’
Life isn’t always the bubbles, especially when you’re a Harry Styles fan. It feels like just yesterday fans found out Harry Styles got the role of Prince Eric in Disney’s live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid. Then, they found out he didn’t accept the role. (Talk about an emotional roller coaster.) Here’s the reason why the artist declined the role in Disney’s upcoming film.
Disney announced Halle Bailey would portray the title character in ‘The Little Mermaid’
This summer, Disney shared some exciting news with fans of The Little Mermaid — the studio is creating a live-action adaptation of their animated classic. The first cast member announced was artist Halle Bailey, who would portray the title character, a mermaid named Ariel.
The next difficult task would be to find an actor to portray Ariel’s love interest, Prince Eric. Fans shouted out different actors and singers, from Jimin of BTS to Shawn Mendes to Harry Styles. Then, fans got some news about their favorite sailor.
Reportedly, Harry Styles was ‘in talks’ to play Prince Eric
He was a member of One Direction before hitting it off with his own music. As a solo artist, Harry Styles earned awards and nominations for his song “Sign of the Times,” including the MTV Video Music Award nomination for Best Pop Video.
Harry Styles even acted in the 2017 movie, Dunkirk, alongside cast members Tom Hardy, Fionn Whitehead, and Cillian Murphy. Fans were excited to learn Harry Styles would be heading under the sea, as he was reportedly “in talks” to play Ariel’s love interest, Prince Eric. However, wishes don’t always come true. It was later reported that Harry Styles turned down the role in Disney’s live-action adaptation.
Harry Styles turned down his role with Disney to work on his music career
Once news broke that Harry Style was “in talks” to be in the Disney movie, fans online went crazy. The excitement only lasted about one day. Later that week, it was reported that the former One Direction singer “respectfully” declined to play Prince Eric. During an interview with The Face, Harry Styles briefly discussed why he turned down the role in Disney’s live-action adaptation.
“It was discussed,” the artist said. “I want to put music out and focus on that for a while. But everyone involved in it was amazing, so I think it’s going to be great. I’ll enjoy watching it, I’m sure.”
Thankfully, he turned down the film for a good reason. According to Rolling Stone, “He’s putting the finishing touches on his new album, full of the toughest, most soulful songs he’s written yet. As he explains, ‘It’s all about having sex and feeling sad.’”
There is no official release date for the artist’s upcoming album. However, music by Harry Styles, including his song “Sign of the Times,” is available on Spotify, Apple Music, and most major streaming platforms.
