By While your childhood may have been haunted by the laughter of Gaston or the snarl of Jafar, chances are that The Little Mermaid's King Triton was not high on your list of Disney villains. Which is what makes the rumour that Disney's forthcoming live-action remake is looking to use typecast villain Javier Bardem all the more inspired.
Disney's remake frenzy is in full swing, with The Lion King, Mulan and Lady and the Tramp due out before the end of the year, and many, many more coming in 2020. The Little Mermaid has already cast Halle Bailey as its Ariel, and rumours are now swirling around the rest of the cast.
This week came the news that Harry Styles was in talks to play handsome Prince Eric, a role that the Met Gala King will barely have to flutter his eyelashes to slip into. While Styles is an obvious fit for the doe-eyed romancer, the rumour we're much more here for is that of Javier Bardem being considered to play Ariel's father, King Triton.
The Spanish actor's memorable roles over the years include every variation of terrifying man. Including but not limited to: a psychopathic killer in No Country For Old Men, notorious drug Baron Pablo Escobar in Loving Pablo, a darkly sycophantic writer in Mother!, and a cyber terrorist who melts his own face with cyanide in Skyfall.
Needless to say, Bardem's twisted smile strikes fear into the heart of any cinema-goer the moment he appears on screen. Which is why his casting as the ruler of Atlantica, the undersea kingdom of Merpeople, is exactly the dark twist nobody was expecting.
Sure, Triton is a little protective of Ariel, but taking the largely benevolent father figure to the depths we know Bardem brings to a maniacal character will certainly spice up the remake. News of Bill Skarsgård taking on the role of Flounder, and director Rob Marshall being replace by Lars von Trier are surely next.
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