Disney has released the full trailer for its upcoming live-action remake of Aladdin, directed by Guy Ritchie, and it offers our first look at Will Smith as Genie. Mena Massoud stars as the street-rat-with-a-heart-of-gold Aladdin, with Naomi Scott as the beautiful and determined Princess Jasmine. The movie will feature a new repertoire of songs by Alan Menken and La La Land songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (Menken originally collaborated with Howard Ashman and Tim Rice for the music in the 1992 animated version).
This trailer is an improvement over that TV spot that revealed Smith's Genie, and indeed I don't think it's a coincidence that this trailer is so heavily focused on the live-action elements of this remake. Getting a closer look, it very much feels like Smith's take on Genie is quite literally just his Hitch character, but I'm interested to see how that full arc plays out. The production design is undeniably impressive, and it's hard not to get chills when those first few notes of "A Whole New World" kick in, but I don't know, something still feels a little "off" here. I'm certainly curious to see the full film, but this trailer doesn't completely win me over just yet.
The film opens in theaters on May 24, 2019 and also stars Marwan Kenzari as Jafar, Navid Negahban as the Sultan, Nasim Pedrad as Jasmine’s handmaiden, Billy Magnussen as a potential suitor for the Princess, and Numan Acar as Jafar’s right-hand man.
For more Aladdin, check out these recent stories:
- Here Are All of Disney’s Upcoming Live-Action Remakes
- Guy Ritchie on a More Humorous ‘Aladdin’ and Creating a Genie with Abs
- First ‘Aladdin’ TV Spot Reveals Will Smith as Genie
- All 57 Disney Animated Movies Ranked from Worst to Best