Harry Styles on why he turned down the role of Prince Eric in the live action Little Mermaid remake

Harry Styles has revealed why he turned down the role of Prince Eric in the live action Little Mermaid remake.

The former One Direction singer was heavily linked to play the Disney prince. However, he told Capital FM earlier this week how there were "just a few things" which stopped him from taking the role. “I had, you know, a meeting with Rob Marshall the director, who is the most wonderful man, he’s great," he said [via ET]. “And it was just, honestly, it was just a few things. “It just, it wasn’t… erm… I think it’s gonna be amazing, obviously it’s an amazing film, and I can tell Roman [host Kemp]’s watching how I’m kind of worming… how’s he gonna worm his way [out of] this one. “They shoot for so long and I want to tour next year and stuff maybe. Potentially, maybe not, I haven’t announced that yet." Ultimately, he explained that it "just didn’t quite line up.” Elsewhere in the casting process, R&B singer Halle Bailey - from Chloe x Halle fame - has been cast as Ariel. Jacob Tremblay and Awkwafina are said to be in talks for the roles of Ariel's friends Flounder and Scuttle, respectively. Disney are said to be keen to make it contemporary and compelling with its casting choices - but, of course, they want to make sure they stay true to the original. The director of Mary Poppins Returns, Rob Marshall, is set to helm the picture. The film will reportedly feature a mix of songs from the original animated tale as well as some new ones - with Hamilton's Lin-Manuel Miranda and songwriter Alan Menken working together.

• There has been no word yet on when the movie will become part of our world, but we're definitely excited.