If you’re looking to be more a part of Disney’s ongoing live-action movie world, then today’s your lucky day.
As part of its 2022 D23 Expo, the Mouse House has released the teaser trailer for The Little Mermaid, the company’s next big-screen live-action adaptation. Based on the 1989 animated classic of the same name, the film will tell the story of Ariel, a young mermaid who would give anything to walk on land with humans ⏤ even her own voice.
This time, however, fans will get to witness a real-life Ariel gazing longingly at sailors and using forks to comb her hair. While the trailer doesn’t reveal much about how filmmakers are breathing fresh life into this familiar tail ⏤ sorry, tale ⏤ it does indicate that moviegoers are in for quite the musical treat, thanks in no small part to Halle Bailey’s already impressive vocals.
Bailey, who plays Ariel and is featured prominently in the teaser, can be seen swimming through shipwrecks and singing of her desire to be a part of a world that’s very different from her own. While we don’t see trade her voice for legs or walk around on land, the fireworks she notices above the surface of the water hint that Prince Eric is indeed up there and Ariel is about to see him, fall in love with him, and strike a bargain with a fabulous sea witch in order to meet him.
Though they’re not shown in the teaser, The Little Mermaid will also star Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric, Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, Daveed Diggs as Sebastian, Awkwafina as Scuttle, and Javier Bardem as King Triton. It’s too soon to tell if the live-action adaptation will be a mirror image of its animated counterpart, but this first look Disney has given us hints that the company has spared no expense with bringing this story to fresh visual life.
The Little Mermaid will swim into theaters on May 26, 2023.
