Sadly, you read that right. Harry Styles will not be playing the role of Prince Eric in the upcoming live adaptation of The Little Mermaid.
Ever since singer and Grownish actress Halle Bailey was announced as Ariel on July 3, Disney fans have been eager to see who would be playing her love interest. Names that were thrown around by fans who would fit the role of Prince Eric were Harry Styles, Shawn Mendes, and BTS’ Jimin. With Styles having starred in 2017’s Dunkirk, it only seemed fitting that he would be the best candidate. Rumors have been swirling about Styles taking on the role of Prince Eric since July, and those rumors were seemingly confirmed on August 13, when a website called The DisInsider reported that Styles has indeed been cast in The Little Mermaid.
According to Cosmopolitan, The DisInsider tweeted “confirmation” of the casting news as an exclusive without crediting its sources. It reportedly wrote, “The DisInsider has been recently informed that Styles has officially signed on to the project.” The tweet immediately made its rounds on Twitter, with fans feeling happy over the supposed casting news. Movie theaters such as AMC and Regal even spread the news, but then later deleted their tweets after it was revealed that Styles had not been confirmed for the role yet.
harry styles playing prince eric, both my childhood crushes, my two worlds colliding… it’s too much for me to process rn pic.twitter.com/mcmgby6PUE
— les? (@T4URUS) August 13, 2019
Me auditioning to play a starfish so I can meet Harry Styles as Prince Eric pic.twitter.com/uqvPhWcJtO
— Jeneanne (@jeneanne_m) August 13, 2019
After the rumors spread online, Variety then reported that Styles had actually passed on the role. Variety wrote, “Sources say the initial reports about his casting were premature and that Styles made the decision to move on amicably. The studio has already begun looking at others for the part and, according to sources, a decision should come shortly.” Of course, fans were disappointed since they believed that they would be seeing Styles on the big screen once again.
“Harry is confirmed to play Prince Eric”
“Harry turned down the role” https://t.co/MjBokTPFmh
— joy (@homewharry) August 13, 2019
https://twitter.com/EthansOldHair/status/1161409629974405125?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1161409629974405125&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newsweek.com%2Ftwitter-reacts-harry-styles-declining-role-prince-eric-disneys-little-mermaid-live-action-film-1454164
Harry Styles was also in talks of playing Elvis Presley in an upcoming biopic, but the role was given to Austin Butler instead.