Chloe Bailey’s sister, Halle Bailey, is about to hit the big screen as one of the most iconic Disney characters of all time, The Little Mermaid’s Ariel. Has watching her sister go through the big-budget Disney filmmaking process sparked interest in tackling a similar production herself? We discussed just that on her episode of Collider Ladies Night Pre-Party recorded in celebration of her latest release, the Prime Video series Swarm.
Created by Donald Glover and Janine Nabers, Swarm puts the spotlight on Dominique Fishback’s Dre. Growing up, Dre was a huge fan of pop sensation Ni’Jah. So was her sister Marissa (Bailey), but the difference is, Dre’s obsession intensified as an adult, and sometimes, her Ni’Jah love can take her to dark places.
After recapping Bailey’s past acting experiences on Grown-ish, Jane, and more, we took a moment to look to the future and discuss her acting goals moving forward. Here’s what she said when asked if her sister’s Little Mermaid experience made her want to jump into a film of that scale herself or if she’d rather stick to more intimate productions like Jane, Swarm, and her upcoming movie, Praise This:
“The sky's the limit, you know? I'm so proud of my sister and I think it's all about the timing and when opportunities present itself to you, and she couldn't have been a more perfect Ariel. Her sweet, soft angelic voice, and that was perfect for her. And the right opportunity will find you. So just like Swarm, I was able to bring my music and tie that in and my love for thrillers and suspense. And even this movie Praise This coming out soon, I got to show me as my bubbly bright self and my performing aspect and things like that. And even with Girl from North Country, which I'm really excited to shoot, I've always been such a huge Broadway head and being able to take Bob Dylan songs and take this Tony Award-winning adaptation and make it into an incredible film, it's like all of the right things are finding me. And what I love is that each character, there's a piece of Chloe in there so that’s what makes it easier to portray and act. And I think that's why I've liked acting more, because it's a place where I can be free to be myself with no judgment because nobody knows which piece of that is Chloe.”
Just for fun, I wrapped that portion of the conversation by asking Bailey for the animated Disney character she’d most like to bring to screen in a live-action film. She didn’t have an animated character along the lines of Ariel in mind, but she did immediately namedrop a certain superhero who falls under the Disney umbrella:
“I don't know about a live-action, but I want to be Storm in Marvel, and Disney owns Marvel, so …”
Could Bailey’s name wind up on the MCU roster and make both sisters Disney stars? We shall see! X-Men ideas are brewing over at Marvel, but Kevin Feige and co. have yet to make any firm plans public.