Photo Credit: Jerod Harris/ Getty Entertainment
UPDATE: So it looks like the ink has finally dried on Will Smith playing the Genie in the upcoming live-action Aladdin remake. According to Page 6, Disney has finally confirmed who will be playing Aladdin and Jasmine as well, choosing Mena Massoud as the male lead, Naomi Scott as the Indian princess, and Guy Ritchie as the director. Apparently, it was quite the process to lock down casting and Disney wanted to steer clear of white-washing as much as possible. Did they succeed? Twitter doesn’t seem to think so:
#Aladdin classic arab fairytale will have no arabs…i just….DISNEY COULDN’T FIND AN ARAB GIRL..so many arab nations but nope…#iamtired pic.twitter.com/sBAZMKuU4Y
— millie (@millieelba) July 16, 2017
First they wanted Beyoncé for the live-action film for The Lion King, and now they’re looking at Will Smith for a live-action remake of Disney’s Aladdin.
The former Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is being tapped to play the Genie, originally voiced by Robin Williams in 1992’s highest-grossing film.
According to reports, Smith was originally set to play in the remake of Dumbo directed by Tim Burton, but ran in to scheduling conflicts. To be honest, we are ready for another Black genie. Ya’ll remember the last time we had one?
Sources say that Disney is on a mission to recreate live-action versions for other classics like The Little Mermaid, Pocahontas, Mulan, Peter Pan, and of course, The Lion King. The best part of all is, the movies will have a diverse cast. Here are seven Black celebrities we would cast in these classic remakes:
TELL US: What celebrity would you like to see in a live-action Disney film?
