Ahead of the movie’s May release, The Little Mermaid star Jonah Hauer-King has spoken about the live-action Disney remake’s version of Prince Eric.

In an interview with Total Film magazine, the actor described the objective of the upcoming remake and stated that he wanted to bring new depth to the love interest of the 1989 animated movie.

“The objective was trying to honor and respect the film that we loved 30 years ago, and bring everything that we fell in love with in the first place, while also trying to breathe some new life into it,” Hauer-King explained. “I think that was true of Prince Eric. Trying to understand who he is, and trying to bring some four-dimensionality to him, was the challenge.”

Disney’s animated The Little Mermaid made over $211 million at the box office and became a bestseller on home video, popularizing songs like “Under The Sea” and “Part of Your World.” The upcoming film is based on the short story by Hans Christian Andersen and the 1989 Disney animated film by Ron Clements and John Musker.

The Little Mermaid is set to premiere on May 26, 2023.