The Awardist SAG Awards Javier Bardem promises live-action Little Mermaid is 'going to be something really amazing' The actor will play King Triton and gave an update on the film on the red carpet of the SAG Awards. By Lester Fabian Brathwaite Lester Fabian Brathwaite Lester Fabian Brathwaite is a staff writer at Entertainment Weekly, where he covers breaking news, all things Real Housewives, and a rich cornucopia of popular culture. Formerly a senior editor at Out magazine, his work has appeared on NewNowNext, Queerty, Rolling Stone, and The New Yorker. He was also the first author signed to Phoebe Robinson's Tiny Reparations imprint. He met Oprah once. EW's editorial guidelines Published on February 27, 2022 09:25PM EST Next year, King Triton will be part of our world when the live-action Little Mermaid swims into theaters. Not much is known about the highly anticipated musical, but Javier Bardem, who plays the mermaid king, says it will be something to behold. Starring Halle Bailey as Ariel, with Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, and Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric, the film is slated to come out May 26, 2023. Though Bardem is under the sea in The Little Mermaid, he's as excited as everyone else to get some eyes on it. Javier Bardem. Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic "It's coming out next year, and I can't wait to see it! It's going to be something really amazing," Bardem said on the PEOPLE & Entertainment Weekly Red Carpet Live: 28th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards pre-show. Though The Little Mermaid will be a musical, it remains to be seen if Barden will belt out the tunes himself. When he played Desi Arnaz in Being the Ricardos, he said, "It was kind of a surprise to me to see that I could actually sing." He added, "The bongos I could more or less deal with because I play drums, but the singing was the challenging part. But if you surround yourself with good people, like the teachers [to work on] your singing voice, the great music supervisors, you may sing! I am the living proof of that." Javier Bardem in 'Being the Ricardos'. Amazon Studios In addition to being up for Male Actor in a Leading Role at the SAG Awards, both Bardem and his wife Penélope Cruz are up for lead-acting Oscars. "It makes it very special. The fact that we're both nominated for the same year, it's something really unique," Bardem said of the dual honors. And who got the news first in that esteemed thespian household? "Best Actor first. But I said, 'Hold on, hold on, hold on. Hold on. This doesn't make any sense if you are not in. And then it came out, hers, and now we celebrate!" Bardem said. Related content: See all the stars on the red carpet at the 2022 SAG Awards Halle Bailey shares emotional post as she wraps filming Disney's live-action The Little Mermaid Aaron Sorkin on prioritizing 'truth over accuracy' when writing biopics like Being the Ricardos