Casting for The Little Mermaid is already in full swing. Hailey Bailey will play the titular role, while others like Melissa McCarthy, Awkwafina, and Jacob Tremblay will play supporting roles.

But this really wouldn’t be a Little Mermaid reimagining without its Prince Eric. According to a new report, Dunkirk star and One Direction bandmate Harry Styles is in talks to play the role of the young prince who Ariel dreams of being with. More on the report below.

The news comes to us exclusively from Collider, who says Disney wants Styles to play the role of Prince Eric. Rob Marshall will direct, and he will be reuniting with his Mary Poppins Returns star Lin-Manuel Miranda, who will be working on the music with Alan Menken and Howard Ashman.

Nothing is official as of yet, but it seems fitting that Disney would choose someone like Styles considering how most of these remakes are contemporary reimaginings. He certainly has the looks, and he can sing. He has also proven himself to be a capable actor with his role in Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk.

So even though he was one of the runner ups for the role of Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann’s new film (a role which went to The Shannara Chronicles and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood actor Austin Butler), he gets to play one of the most iconic princes in the Disney animation pantheon.

King Triton and Sebastian are among the remaining roles that are left to fill. And who knows, maybe the reimagining will be adding some new characters.

The news comes after Bailey, half of the R&B duo Chloe x Halle was cast as Ariel. Though the news was met with mixed reaction, those who have played the character either in the animated take or the Broadway musical have shown their support for the young actress.

On the production side of things, Marc Platt and John DeLuca will produce, while Menken will write the music and Miranda provides the lyrics for an all-new song.

No word yet on when The Little Mermaid could be released, but Disney expects to begin production sometime next year.

[Source: Collider]