Check out the hilarious way the actor revealed that he wants the gig!
Now that Ariel has been cast, Hollywood is lining up to be in The Little Mermaid!
On Saturday, Terry Crews announced on social media that he is more than ready to tackle the role of King Triton, the patriarch in the undersea adventure, now that fans know Halle Bailey of Chloe x Halle will be the film’s star.
“Ariel’s Dad!!!!” the 50-year-old captioned a hilarious image of himself photoshopped with a tail and fin while also holding a trident and floating in front of the kingdom of Atlantica. Crews also added two different hashtags to help promote his campaign to get in the film, #ArielsGotTerry and #AmericasGotTerry.
The Brooklyn Nine-Nine star is just latest to throw their hat into the ring for consideration in the next Disney live-action adaptation. On June 28, ET learned that Melissa McCarthy is in talks to play the film’s tentacled villain, Ursula. However, soon after news broke, Lizzo shared a sad-faced emoji in response and her fans quickly mounted a campaign for the role on her behalf.
And Bailey hasn’t sidestepped controversy since getting cast. A segment of Disney’s fandom criticized the decision due to her race not matching the animated 1989 film, in which Ariel appeared to be Caucasian.
Over the weekend, Freeform shared an open letter addressing Bailey's critics.
"Yes. The original author of The Little Mermaid was Danish. Ariel...is a mermaid. She lives in an underwater kingdom in international waters and can legit swim wherever she wants (even though that often upsets King Triton, absolute zaddy)," the post states. "But for the sake of argument, let's say that Ariel, too, is Danish. Danish mermaids can be black because Danish *people* can be black. Ariel can sneak up to the surface at any time with her pals Scuttle and the *ahem* Jamaican crab Sebastian (sorry, Flounder!) and keep that bronze base tight. Black Danish people, and this mer-folk, can also *genetically* (!!!) have red hair."
"But spoiler alert - bring it back to the top - the character of Ariel is a work of fiction," the post adds. "So after all this is said and done, and you still cannot get past the idea that choosing the incredible, sensational, highly-talented, gorgeous Halle Bailey is anything other than the INSPIRED casting that it is because she 'doesn't look like the cartoon one,' oh boy, do I have some news for you...about you."
Fellow actors and performers like Zendaya, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Janelle Monae, Mariah Carey and Halle Berry also shared words of encouragement after learning that Bailey got the job.
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