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When Disney announced its live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, one actor in particular was rumored to be in the running for Prince Eric: Harry Styles. However, those rumors were squashed in 2019, when it was announced that Harry had in fact not been cast, and British actor Jonah Hauer-King would join the movie opposite Halle Bailey as the seafaring prince.
However, Little Mermaid director Rob Marshall recently revealed that he did discuss the role with Harry after all. As noted by Entertainment Weekly, the musician's involvement in the film ended up not being the right fit for either party. "We met with him. He was lovely. What a wonderful guy," Marshall told the publication. "But at the end of the day, he really felt like he wanted to go off and do the movies that he ended up doing, which were sort of darker." Those movies, of course, ended up being Don't Worry Darling and My Policeman.
Marshall theorized that Harry also wanted to move away from being typecast in musical roles, given his thriving career as a stadium-filling pop star. "For a lot of young musical people like Harry, you're trying to carve your way and you don't wanna be seen as a singer, necessarily," Marshall explained. "That's why he was really looking to do something not in the musical genre, to really stretch himself. It was really a fun idea to play with, but in the end, I always think things happen for a reason."
According to the director, who has helmed popular musicals like Chicago, Jonah Hauer-King ended up being the perfect person for the role of Prince Eric. "I'm always looking for the person who's deeply connected to a part," Marshall told EW. "The words come off the page and all of a sudden they're in his mouth, and it sounds true and real. You believe the person."
We may not get to hear the Harry Styles take on "Fathoms Below" or watch him frolic on the beach with the sheepdog Max, but it sounds like Prince Eric will still be every bit as dreamy.