Halle Bailey has finally treated fans to a first look of herself starring as Ariel in Disney's hotly-anticipated live-action remake of The Little Mermaid. The singer was cast as the lead in the movie back in 2019, with the casting making her the first Black actress to play Ariel - a character that was formerly depicted as white in the 1989 animated version. The 21-year-old singer and actress took to Instagram to treat fans to the exclusive sneak peek, sharing a photo of herself in the ocean with a gorgeous sunset as her backdrop. "And just like that..that's a wrap," she captioned the post. "After auditioning for this film when I was 18 just about to turn 19, to now finishing filming through a pandemic when I turned 21 ..we have finally made it..." [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/CRPJUfWLLa1/]] She went on: "I feel so grateful to have experienced this film in all of its glory..it has been the toughest experience being away from everything and everyone I’ve ever known, to feeling self-doubt/ loneliness, but also feeling such freedom and perseverance as I’ve reached the end. this experience has made me so much stronger than I ever thought I could be." The star also paid tribute to her "lovely and talented" co-stars and the movie's "beautiful" crew as she reflected on the "toughest" experience of a lengthy shoot throughout the pandemic. The gorgeous image shows Halle sit on the waves in Sardinia, the shooting location of the film. [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/chloexhalle/status/1146509551497170944]]  Although it’s a little tough to make out many details of her in her full mermaid glory, the star can be seen with her hair long, and in a far more natural hue, with just a hint of russet - a stark comparison to the 1989 Ariel's flaming red locks. Halle went on to caption the image: "I’m so grateful to have such lovely and talented people in the cast like @jonahhauerking that will be my friend for infinite lifetimes, @jacobtremblay who I’m so proud of and legends like @bardemantarctic @melissamccarthy @awkwafina @daveeddiggs who are masters of their craft but are so welcoming and open to little old me..as well as to the rest of the beautiful cast and crew." [[instagramwidget||https://www.instagram.com/p/CRAFk0RMo4R/]] She added: "I cannot wait for time to speed up so you all can watch this film because it was made with so much love (plus blood sweat and tears) lol thank you Sardinia for a wonderful ending!!! xoxo." Halle is best known for her role in the sitcom Grown-ish, as well as half of the R&B duo Chloe x Halle. She shared the news of her casting on Twitter, writing that being cast as Ariel was "a dream come true". The film is directed by Rob Marshall, the director of Chicago - who also worked on Mary Poppins Returns and Into the Woods for Disney. <h6>Featured image credit: Sipa US / Alamy</h6>

Halle Bailey shares first look of herself as Ariel in Disney's The Little Mermaid remake as filming wraps

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