Disney does not look like it will be stopping soon with its live-action adaptations of the numerous entries in its animated movie canon. After all, its recent entries in this vein have been strong box-office contenders like “Beauty and the Beast” with Emma Watson and Dan Stevens from last March. Other upcoming projects include a 2019 live-action take on “The Lion King” directed by Jon Favreau, who directed two “Iron Man” films and “The Jungle Book” in 2016. But there is also another film adaptation in the works, namely a live-action musical of 1992’s “Aladdin,” and while the initial casting is already known, only now have the actors been photographed together, courtesy of will smith who plays the Genie.
‘Aladdin’ cast group shot
No, that is no joke. Will Smith will indeed be stepping into the shoes of the magical Disney character made famous in 1992 by the voice of late comedian extraordinaire Robin Williams. And he decided to post a groupie he took with the rest of the main cast for the live-action “Aladdin,” which will be directed by Guy Ritchie. The group appears to be at a set of the movie, slowly being built up if the lifting cranes in their background are any indication.
“We just started shooting Aladdin and I wanted to intro you guys to our new family,” Smith wrote in the caption of their set photo. He then introduced his cast-mates: Mena Massoud as Aladdin, Naomi Scott (Lionsgate’s “Power Rangers,” 2017) as Princess Jasmine, and Marwan Kenzari (Universal’s “The Mummy,” 2017) as Jafar.
He also linked the respective Facebook pages of all his fellow actors except Kenzari. After describing himself as “getting his Genie on,” Smith signed off on the post with “Here we go!”
Careful casting
“Aladdin” was one of the high-grossing entries in the animated canon during what is termed as the “Renaissance” of Disney Animation.
While popular, the film has since been picked at as containing stereotyped and inaccurate portrayals of Middle Eastern people and culture. Disney has tried to head off any accusations of whitewashing akin to what plagued the “Ghost in the Shell” adaptation by Paramount and Dreamworks Pictures this year. Their primary cast consists of Egyptian-Canadian Mena Massoud, Tunisian-Dutch Marwan Kenzari, and Naomi Scott whose mother is Ugandan of descent from India, in an approximation of ethnicities of the fictional Middle Eastern kingdom of Agrabah in “Aladdin.”
Disney has tried to head off any accusations of whitewashing akin to what plagued the “Ghost in the Shell” adaptation by Paramount and Dreamworks Pictures this year.
Their primary cast consists of Egyptian-Canadian Mena Massoud, Tunisian-Dutch Marwan Kenzari, and Naomi Scott whose mother is Ugandan of descent from India, in an approximation of ethnicities of the fictional Middle Eastern kingdom of Agrabah in “Aladdin.”
Prior to beginning work on the film, Will Smith was busying himself in the summer by going on a European concert tour with his music partner DJ Jazzy Jeff. This Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince tour is for their latest collaboration “Get Lit,” the first song of the duo in almost ten years. Disney’s “Aladdin” live-action remake is yet to get a release date.
