Entertainment Weekly has released the first look of Disney’s live-action adaptation of Aladdin in their latest issue. The cover features Will Smith as the Genie and newbies Mena Massoud as Aladdin and Naomi Scott as Princess Jasmine.
The remake, shot in London and on location in Jordan, is directed by Guy Ritchie. Following this, the cover did not go down well with the fans of the 1992 original. Smith’s portrayal of Genie received flak for not being blue. After this, the 50-year-old actor said that his appearance on the EW cover was Genie’s form when disguised as a human.
“I started to feel confident that I could deliver something that was a homage to Robin Williams but was musically different. Just the flavour of the character would be different enough and unique enough that it would be in a different lane, versus trying to compete,” Smith said.
“I think it’ll stand out as unique even in the Disney world. There hasn’t been a lot of that hip-hop flavour in Disney history,” he added.
Disney’s Aladdin remake will hit theatres in May 2019.
