Disney_299

The Little Mermaid is a 2023 American musical fantasy film directed by Rob Marshall from a screenplay written by David Magee. Co-produced by Walt Disney Pictures, DeLuca Marshall, and Marc Platt Productions, it is a live-action adaptation of Walt Disney Animation Studios' 1989 film of the same name, itself loosely based on the 1837 fairy tale of the same title by Hans Christian Andersen. The film stars Halle Bailey in the titular role, alongside Jonah Hauer-King, Daveed Diggs, Awkwafina, Jacob Tremblay, Noma Dumezweni, Javier Bardem and Melissa McCarthy. The Little Mermaid follows a mermaid princess Ariel who makes a deal with a treacherous sea witch Ursula to trade her voice to human legs in order to impress Prince Eric, who is saved from a shipwreck, before the time runs out.

Plans for a remake of 1989's The Little Mermaid were confirmed in May 2016. Marshall joined the film as director in December 2017, and much of the main cast signed on from June to November 2019. Production was expected to begin in London between late March and early April 2020 but was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Filming ultimately took place primarily at Pinewood Studios in England and in the island of Sardinia, Italy, from January to July 2021. Composer Alan Menken, who worked on the original animated film's soundtrack, returned to compose the score and write new songs alongside Lin-Manuel Miranda, who serves as a co-producer with Platt, John DeLuca and Marshall.

The Little Mermaid premiered at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on May 8, 2023, followed by the London premiere at the Odeon Luxe in Leicester Square on May 15, 2023, and is scheduled to be released theatrically in the United States on May 26, 2023, in RealD 3D, IMAX, Dolby Cinema and 4DX formats, as well as in conventional theaters.