Love it or hate it, a live action Aladdin is coming and Guy Richie has cast Will Smith as the Genie! Entertainment Weekly had an exclusive look behind the scenes and have given us a first look at the film currently in production.
*Update! Will Smith has responded to push back about his character and said he will be blue for the movie via CGI! He is only in disguise as a human in this form we see in pics.
And here’s Will Smith with more info on his genie character’s look pic.twitter.com/obNPeMoBYO
— Matthew A. Cherry (@MatthewACherry) December 19, 2018
“A Disney musical about a street urchin who befriends a genie and falls in love with a princess isn’t a premise that comes to mind when one thinks of Guy Ritchie. The British director, 50, is known for gritty thrillers featuring robberies, explosions, and car chases, such as Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. But switch a car for a magic carpet, replace stolen money with a stolen lamp, throw in an underdog hero, and you can start to see why Ritchie felt reconceiving Aladdin for live-action might be in his wheelhouse when the studio approached him in 2016. “My skills and experience could add enough to make it feel fresh and worth it, but not so much so that it would wash away nostalgia,” Ritchie tells EW. He adds that because he has five children, “making a kids’ film was very appealing to me.”- Entertainment Weekly
Here we have a first look at the cover of Entertainment weekly with Big Willy larger than life as the Genie. There are strong opinions about who should take the role on of Genie… No one will ever replace the hilarity of Robin Williams in the animated classic. The jury is still out on this portrayal. We have mixed emotions among the Chip and Co. writing staff. We are split right down the middle on our take on Will’s role in the film. I guess we will have to wait and see!
“I think it’ll stand out as unique even in the Disney world,” Smith says. “There hasn’t been a lot of that hip-hop flavor in Disney history.”-Will Smith
Stay tuned as we bring you more on this as it develops! The film is set to hit theaters May 24th, 2019.
Source: Entertainment Weekly and Daniel Smith/Disney
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