Harry Styles in early talks for The Little Mermaid's Prince Eric

Harry Styles is reportedly in early talks to play Prince Eric in the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid.

The One Direction singer is reportedly an early favourite to land the role in director Rob Marshall's revamp, opposite 19-year-old R&B singer Halle Bailey, who was recently announced as mermaid Ariel, according to Deadline.

Producers reportedly have their sights set on Harry as Eric, who becomes Ariel's human love interest in the 1989 animated classic after she rescues him from drowning.

While Prince Eric didn't sing in Disney's original, the royal character was given two solo numbers when The Little Mermaid became a Broadway musical.

Songs from the 30-year-old film will feature, but original composer Alan Menken will also create new musical numbers with help from Lin-Manuel Miranda, who also wrote the music for Disney's Moana in 2016.

Melissa McCarthy is rumoured to be taking on the role of evil sea witch, Ursula, while Crazy Rich Asians star Awkwafina and Room's Jacob Tremblay are set to feature as seagull Scuttle and Ariel's fish best friend Flounder, respectively.

The news of Harry's reported casting comes after he missed out on the role of Elvis Presley in filmmaker Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming biopic.

The 25-year-old Brit reportedly screen-tested for the part, alongside Ansel Elgort, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Miles Teller, but the Australian filmmaker eventually went with Austin Butler.

Since One Direction went on hiatus, Harry has pursued a career in Hollywood, and he landed a major role in Christopher Nolan's war epic Dunkirk in 2017, alongside Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, and Mark Rylance.