Disney released the first teaser trailer for its live-action remake of Aladdin, revealing very little but also giving us a brief introduction to the actor playing Aladdin.
The teaser was shown during the Thursday Night Football game between the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles. It begins with Iago flying through Agrabah, and ends with actor Mena Massoud as Aladdin holding the familiar lamp seen in the 1992 animated classic and runs just a minute and a half.
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Aladdin also stars Will Smith as the Genie, Naomi Scott as Princess Jasmine and Marwan Kenzari as Jafar. It was directed by Guy Ritchie (Sherlock Holmes) and written by John August, Vanessa Taylor and Ritchie.
The trailer was released just a day after Smith shared the first poster, which also highlighted the magic lamp. In the original film, the genie was voiced by Robin Williams and Aladdin was voiced by Scott Weinger.
Navid Negahban, who previously starred in 12 Strong, recently spoke to Screen Rant about Ritchie’s vision of the film.
“He’s very, very cautious. He wants to show the depth of each of these characters and the film itself will be a film that no matter how old you are, you’re going to enjoy it,” the actor said. “It’s a fantastic team. Beautiful, beautiful team. I mean, you will see the costumes. Gorgeous! Unbelievable!”
This is the latest live-action remake from Disney based on their classic animated films, following in the footsteps of The Jungle Book, Alice In Wonderland, Cinderella, Maleficent and Beauty and the Beast. The studio is planning to release Dumbo on March 29 and Mulan on March 27, 2020. The Little Mermaid is also in the works.
The original Aladdin was inspired by the One Thousand and One Nights folktale about a street urchin who discovers a magic lamp with a genie. He uses the genie to disguise himself as a prince to impress a princess, only to discover that she loves him for who he is. The Disney film was written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, and directors Ron Clements and John Musker.
The film was a big hit when first released, winning Oscars for Alan Menken’s original score and the song “A Whole New World” by Menken and lyricist Tim Rice. Disney produced two made-for-video sequels and an animated TV series.
Aladdin hits theaters on May 24, 2019.
Photo credit: Disney
