We live in an age where many remakes of old films occur every year. A source close to Guy Ritchie, director of the upcoming live-action remake of 'Aladdin' has spoken out about the preference for one role that Ritchie has. Apparently, the director who was also behind "Sherlock Holmes" and "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword" already has a preferred choice in mind for the antagonist of the film, the evil sorcerer Jafar.

Tom Hardy

Tom Hardy ("Mad Max: Fury Road", "The Revenant") is the actor the source says Ritchie wants for Jafar. While there has been some immediate fan backlash online to the idea of casting Hardy, a white male, in the role of Jafar, who was shown in the animated version of "Aladdin" to be something along the lines of Moroccan, as well as the rest of the characters.

However, since the character is entirely fictional, many claim Disney would not be straying from the character by casting a white man.

Does Hardy want the role?

While Tom Hardy has not made any reply to the news that he is wanted by Ritchie for Jafar at the time of writing this article, the previous live-action Disney adaptions have all proved wildly successful, with "Beauty and the Beast" released earlier this year drawing in over $1.2 billion in it's time in theaters. This makes it likely that an A-list actor such as Hardy would be happy to be associated with "Aladdin" but we can't be certain.

Who else is likely to star?

Well we haven't heard any news yet on who may star as the title character in "Aladdin" there have been previous rumors stating that Will Smith ("Suicide Squad", "Focus") will take on Robin Williams' role of the Genie, while Jade Thirlwall from the girl band Little Mix has surprisingly been tipped to potentially play the Princess Jasmine.

With quite a varied cast already looking to shape up, Hardy would be an excellent addition as Jafar.

Hardy's Schedule

The primary issue with Tom Hardy starring in "Aladdin" is bound to be his busy upcoming filming schedule though. "Aladdin" has no release date but is likely to be filming some time next year, and Hardy already has to film "War Party", "Mad Max: The Wasteland" and "Venom" as well as a potential cameo role in "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" along with his press tour work for "Dunkirk" out in July.

This makes it hard to imagine yet another film being added to his schedule just now, but A-listers such as Hardy are known for their amazing ability to do everything at once.

As you can see from the original trailer above for "Aladdin" there is a lot of singing involved in the film, and judging from the other Disney live-action remakes like "Cinderella" and "Beauty and the Beast" it is likely that this will be kept as a musical.

Fortunately Jafar never did a great deal of the singing in the original, so if Hardy is unwilling or unable to sing for the film it can easily be written around to make sure he doesn't have to.

"Aladdin" has no release date yet but is being directed by Guy Ritchie, working off a screenplay by John August.
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