Has Disney finally found its Prince Eric in Christian Navarro?
The studio is still hot in their search for an actor to play opposite Halle Bailey’s Ariel in the upcoming live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid. As previously reported, Harry Styles, who was initially offered the part of Ariel’s love interest, “respectfully declined” his involvement last month.
When the news broke, the 13 Reasons Why star took it as a sign to shoot his shot for the dream role. “So I heard Harry Styles passed on Prince Eric, well...I can sing. Black Ariel/Latino Prince...no ones called but Season 3 drops next week and I think it’s one hell of an audition,” Navarro tweeted Disney at the time, adding, “@DisneyStudios give it a shot why don’t ya?”
Well, with the enthusiasm and support of his fans, it seems Disney has answered the call: Navarro took to Twitter to reveal he was given an audition for the part on Tuesday (September 3). “Idk what happened to the other tweet. But! @disney saw this, saw your support, and gave my team a call,” the 28-year-old wrote. “They wanted to see what I could do. Tapes sent. Fingers crossed. Let’s make some history.”
The casting for Disney’s live-action Little Mermaid remake has been receiving a lot of attention, especially after the Chloe x Halle singer, a black woman, made headlines when she was announced to play the mermaid princess. Aside from Navarro, other performers rumored to make a splash in the upcoming film include Awkwafina and Jacob Tremblay as Flounder and Scuttle the Seagle, with Melissa McCartney also in talks to portray the movie’s infamous villain, Ursula.
Good luck, Christian!
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