Disney is taking The Little Mermaid fans under the sea for a first glimpse at Melissa McCarthy’s Ursula in its live-action remake.
In a 30-second teaser trailer of the film that dropped Wednesday, star Halle Bailey is seen performing her rendition of “Part of Your World,” as she twirls through underwater reefs and peeks out from behind ship wreckage.
But perhaps the trailer’s biggest moment — outside of a glimpse of Bailey and co-star Jonah Hauer-King’s Prince Eric’s near kiss on a boat — is its tease of McCarthy as the story’s beloved villain, Ursula. Toward the end of the spot, McCarthy’s bright eyes can be seen peeking out from behind a tentacle as the actress delivers her rendition of the character’s iconic laugh.
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The reimagining of the animated 1989 Disney hit is directed by Rob Marshall, with a screenplay by Jane Goldman and David Magee from a story by Marshall. Also starring is Javier Bardem as King Triton and the voices of Awkwafina as Scuttle, Jacob Tremblay as Flounder and Daveed Diggs as Sebastian. Other notable names attached to the cast include Lin-Manuel Miranda and Simone Ashley.
Disney favorite and Broadway legend Miranda has teamed with the original animated film’s composer, Alan Menken, on the music. Miranda, Marshall, Russell Allen, John DeLuca, Marc Platt and Michael Zimmer serve as producers alongside Allison Erlikhman, who is an executive producer.
The film was previously teased as part of a D23 presentation in September alongside Barry Jenkins’ Lion King prequel Mufasa and the Rachel Zegler-led Snow White. That tease also featured a look at Bailey’s performance of the classic “Part of Your World,” with the actress and singer sharing that filming the sequence “was the most beautiful experience of my life.”
The Little Mermaid releases in theaters May 26.
