Will Smith Just Shared The Live-Action 'Aladdin' Poster, So Get Ready To Sob
Disney is in the middle of a live-action remake renaissance. From the success of Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast at the box office, to the anticipation of Beyoncé in The Lion King and Tessa Thompson in Lady and the Tramp, it seems like everyone wants a piece of the live-action cartoon fairy tale pie. Now the latest film to enter production is showing early signs of how awesome it will be; fans need to check out the live-action Aladdin poster ASAP. Will Smith shared it this week, and fans are going nuts.
Most fans may have forgotten about Aladdin in the excitement of some of Disney's other more recent announcements. Will Smith's casting as the Genie, originally voiced by the legendary Robin Williams, was confirmed way back in the summer of 2017, along with newcomer Mena Massoud, an Egyptian-born Canadian actor, who would be taking the titular role along side him. Production began in September of last year, with Smith posting a photo of the cast to mark the occasion, including himself, Massoud, plus Naomi Scott (Princess Jasmine) and Marwan Kenzari (Jafar), who round out the core cast.
Since then, it's been mostly radio silence until now. Smith took to Instagram to post the first poster from the film, which sadly doesn't give anything away, except for anticipation of what's to come.
Smith captioned it:
LEMME OUT!! Can’t wait for y’all to see Me BLUE! :-) #aladdin
Fans may not have to wait for another 13 months before that happen. With the arrival of the new poster comes hints from the production that there is another promotional something from the film to follow, as soon as tomorrow. Disney tweeted out that there was more "first look" to come as a follow up to Smith's post. But whether that is a production still, a poster with the Genie out of the bottle, or a full on trailer is anyone's guess.
The core stars of the film may come directly from the 1992 animated Disney film, but unlike some of the live-action remakes that have arrived so far, this is not a slavish shot-for-shot remake. The new Aladdin will include new characters and new material.
In addition to the main cast, new characters are going to be introduced in the reboot, with actors like Nasim Pedrad and Billy Magnussen joining in on the fun. And not only are there new characters, but new songs as well, which will be written by famed composer Alan Menken and the Tony Award-winning songwriters of Dear Evan Hansen, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.
Aladdin is one of three live-actions remakes slated to arrive on the big screen next year, starting with Dumbo in March of 2019, and followed by The Lion King in July. In addition to those films, Lady and the Tramp will be released via Disney's coming streaming service next year as well.Disney plans to end the year with the animated Frozen 2 in November.
Disney's live-action Aladdin remake arrives in theaters on Memorial Day Weekend of next year, May 24, 2019.
