Disney has certainly been on a roll the past few years, churning out numerous live-action versions of classic animated films to critical and commercial success. The most recent one, Beauty and the Beast, went on the become the 10th highest grossing film of all time. One of the many other films set to be remade with live actors is Aladdin – here’s everything we know about it so far.
Release date
The live-action retelling of the 1992 film doesn’t currently have a release date set in stone. Disney doesn’t have any remakes set for release in 2018 (the film Mary Poppins Returns is technically a sequel), but there are two set for release in 2019: The Lion King and Mulan. Shooting has just started and is set to last until January 2018 – whether the film will actually get released in 2018 remains to be seen.
Cast and crew
Numerous cast members for the film have been announced. Mena Massoud will be taking on the titular role, while Naomi Scott will be playing Princess Jasmine. Will Smith will take on the role of Genie and Marwan Kenzari will be playing the film’s villain Jafar. Nasim Pedrad has been selected to play Mara, a friend of Jasmine’s and Numan Acar has been announced as playing Hakim, one of the guards of Agrabah. Guy Ritchie will be directing the film.
Plot
Disney had apparently been looking into creating an original story focusing on Genie. Appropriately titled Genies, it would have acted as a sort of prequel to Aladdin and would have focused on the infamous blue genie. That idea was scrapped and the live action film will closely mirror the plot of the original Aladdin film. It’s been announced that the remake will feature some brand new songs.
