We finally got our first look at Guy Ritchie's live-action Aladdin movie and it's...interesting? The cast of this movie was finally shown off in the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly and fans are going to have a field day with this, for better or worse. Admittedly, the movie doesn't look too bad but it's hard to say if this will rock anyone's world though we may be getting ahead of ourselves.
As fans can see, we have our first look at Aladdin (Menna Masoud), Jasmine (Naomi Scott), and The Genie (Will Smith). It's still odd having someone white play the role of a Middle-Eastern but she does look fine as Jasmine if that means anything. We'll also have to get used to Masoud's attire since it looks nothing like his animated counterpart, which isn't horrible.
(Entertainment Weekly)
Then there's The Genie, who, let's be honest, is basically Will Smith. Ritchie even describes him as "part Fresh Prince, part Hitch," both of which had Smith as stars. To be fair, dressing the actor up in blue is a decent enough tribute to the animated version of the character and it's a better alternative than making him CGI.
Like most of the live-action remakes of animated Disney movies, these don't look horrible but it's hard to shake away that feeling of corporate greed from them. The animated classics are much more timeless due to the art of animation but we'll probably get a competent movie out of this.
(Entertainment Weekly)
Aladdin comes out on May 24, 2019.
Read:Original Aladdin Screenwriter Lambasts Disney's Live-Action Remake