This holiday weekend sees the premiere of Disney’s newest live-action outing, The Little Mermaid. It’s projected to make somewhere in the ballpark of $100 million throughout the weekend, no doubt dominating the box office for now. But, although the newest version of Ariel and her under-the-sea friends is projected to be a splash hit, there’s still a slew of other movies making their debut this weekend, including Peter Atencio’s The Machine. 

Loosely based on real life, The Machine follows Bert Kreischer, played by himself, as he faces the mistakes he made 20 years ago while studying abroad in Russia. Once his faults come back to haunt him in the form of the Russian Mob, they kidnap his father, and Bert has to muster his courage and save him.

One notable detail about the film is that it stars Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill, as Bert’s father. And to draw people out to see The Machine, he tweeted a subtle reference to a particular movie with a singing mermaid.

TODAY: Do you have the guts to become part of OUR world?#TheMACHINEmovie @bertkreischer @MarkHamill @SonyPictures https://t.co/g2LlZO85Eq

— Mark Hamill (@MarkHamill) May 26, 2023

Subtle may not be the correct term either, since the song Part of Your World is perhaps the best-known song from the original 1989 version of The Little Mermaid and has been all over the marketing for the new imagining. No doubt it was made in good fun and just a light little remark, especially considering the vast difference in demographics for The Little Mermaid (rated PG), and The Machine (rated R). Stay with us here for updates on The Little Mermaid, The Machine, and any other movie.