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Disney In Talks With Will Smith For Role Of The Genie In Live-Action Version Of ‘Aladdin’

By Danny Cox
Published on: 14:43 PST, Apr 19, 2017

Disney has a lot of plans for future live-action remakes of their animated classics, but this casting choice may end up upsetting a lot of people if talks move forward. With the incredible success of Beauty and the Beast, Disney is not going to stop with the new versions of their old films anytime soon, but fans may start bringing the backlash if Will Smith really ends up playing the Genie in a live-action version of Aladdin.

According to Deadline, it may still be really early in the negotiations, but Will Smith is in talks with the “House of the Mouse” to take on the role of the Genie. The animated character was made incredibly famous by Robin Williams and fans would find it hard for anyone to ever try to step into those shoes.

Williams provided the voice of the Genie in the 1992 hit, and Aladdin is only one of many live-action remakes in the works. Still, even if its release hasn’t been scheduled yet, director Guy Ritchie may end up with one of the biggest actors in Hollywood taking on a lead role.

Aladdin is scheduled to be a live-action musical much in the same way that the incredibly successful Beauty and the Beast is. Obviously, Will Smith wouldn’t be a bad choice for a project such as that as he has had many hit songs and albums throughout his entertainment career.

When it comes to Disney movies, though, the fanbase is one that is extremely selective and picky with casting choices. As soon as news broke that Smith was in early talks to play the Genie, the doubters turned to social media.

Others have taken the chance to drop some of the rather expected jokes upon this whole possible scenario.

Just two months ago, Will Smith was rumored to be connected to Tim Burton’s live-action remake of Dumbo, but those talks fell through, according to Entertainment Weekly. Rumor has it that Smith wanted $20 million for the lead role in that film and that Disney wasn’t having it, so they broke talks with him.

Chances are those rumors were unsubstantiated as they’re talking with Smith again about now starring in Aladdin. Tim Burton’s Dumbo just happened to bring about a number of scheduling conflicts which wouldn’t work out for the former star of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

If Smith had really demanded so much money and the studio called off negotiations over that, you can bet they wouldn’t be looking at him to take on such an iconic role as the Genie.

[Image by Disney]

Variety reports that Will Smith has been looking to do more of a family-friendly film ever since taking parts in the comic book Suicide Squad and adult drama Collateral Beauty. You really can’t get anymore family-friendly than Disney

Currently, there is no set release date or even production start date for Aladdin, but it is definitely in place and will be happening. Here are just some of the other famous animated classics being remade or created as live-action films in the coming years:

  • The Jungle Book 2
  • Mary Poppins Returns
  • Pinocchio
  • Mulan
  • The Little Mermaid
  • Aladdin
  • Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
  • The Lion King
  • Peter Pan – Tink
  • Cruella – 101 Dalmatians
  • Dumbo
  • Chernabog – Fantasia

Cinderella did well at the box office. The Jungle Book broke all kinds of records. Beauty and the Beast has crossed the $1 billion mark and is still going strong. The live-action remakes of classic animated films is really working for Disney and they have an entire library from which to choose their next project and the next. So far, they’ve done well with casting, but fans may find it hard to see anyone, even Will Smith, other than Robin Williams in the role of the Genie.

[Featured Image by Disney]

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