The Little Mermaid director responds to Kate Middleton rumour

The director of The Little Mermaid remake has commented on reports that the film contains a subtle swipe at Kate Middleton.

Halle Bailey in The Little Mermaid, and Kate Middleton.

The director of The Little Mermaid remake has responded to rumours that the film contains a cheeky dig at Kate Middleton.

The rumour spread last week when a reviewer, who saw an early screening of the Disney film, told the New York Post that “the film seems to draw a number of subtle yet plausible comparisons between Meghan Markle and Prince Harry and the two lead characters, Ariel (who is black in the new movie) and Prince Eric (who is white).”

The critic mentioned one scene in particular which seemed to be a thinly-veiled reference to the Princess of Wales.

“Ariel has sacrificed her voice in order to get to the surface and (meet) Prince Eric. She can’t speak so he tries to guess her name,” the reviewer told the NY Post.

“His first guess is Diana. His second guess is Catherine, but after (Ariel gives a disgusted) reaction, he (concludes) ‘OK, definitely not Catherine.’”

There was no mention of ‘Catherine’ in the original The Little Mermaid which was released in 1989.

In that version, Prince Eric guesses the names: Mildred, Diana and Rachel.

It’s also worth pointing out that Meghan referenced The Little Mermaid during her bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, saying that she identified with the mermaid.

“I went, ‘Oh my God, she falls in love with the prince and because of that she loses her voice,’” Meghan told Oprah.

But according to the film’s director, Rob Marshall, the scene has absolutely nothing to do with Kate Middleton.

“It’s absolutely false,” he told news.com.au at The Little Mermaid premiere in Sydney last night.

“I don’t know where that came from, that’s the most insane thing. People are hilarious how they just dig and find things.

“There’s no truth to that whatsoever,” he added.

Halle Bailey, Rob Marshall and Melissa McCarthy attend the Australian premiere of "The Little Mermaid". Picture: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

Marshall attended the Australian premiere alongside Melissa McCarthy (who plays Ursula) and Halle Bailey (who plays Ariel).

News.com.au spoke to all three of them and asked them to confirm or deny several other rumours about The Little Mermaid remake.

Here are the highlights from their responses.

Did Harry Styles have a meeting with Rob Marshall to discuss a potential role in the film?

“That’s true,” Marshall told news.com.au. “He was wonderful. (But) he really wanted to focus on his album.”

Does Jodi Benson, who voiced Ariel in the 1989 original, make a cameo in the remake?

“Yeah-ish,” Marshall said. “You’ll see … I don’t want to say what it is, but she’s a very good friend and I’ve known her a very long time … I just adore her, so we wanted to find something special for her to do and it’s really special what she does.”

Halle Bailey needed some help to pull off Ariel’s iconic hair-flip scene?

“That is true,” Bailey told news.com.au. “I needed help because I have a lot of hair and it’s really heavy in the water.

“There’s this lovely guy on the stunt team … he would stay underwater with me before we went up, and I would come up and he would push my hair back up with me so it looked like I was doing it,” she said.

Ariel's hair-flip scene in the 1989 original.

Ariel's hair-flip scene in The Little Mermaid remake.

Melissa McCarthy wasn’t even on the list to play Ursula until she took matters into her own hands?

“That’s true,” McCarthy told news.com.au. “I just begged Rob (Marshall) for the job.

“I figured … I wouldn’t even be on the list of people being considered for it, especially with such a big song, it’s not my world.

“But I truly have always loved Ursula so much that I thought, it’s OK if I don’t get it but I knew if I didn’t try I would regret it forever.

“I was like, I don’t have to get it but I at least have to make a play for it, and no one’s more shocked that I’m doing it than myself,” McCarthy said.

The Little Mermaid hits cinemas this Thursday

Originally published as The Little Mermaid director responds to Kate Middleton rumour