Disney is reportedly considering developing a spinoff from the live-action Aladdin movie, which grossed more than a billion dollars worldwide after its release over the summer. Fans are not happy about the subject of the spinoff, which will feature Billy Magnussen’s Prince Anders. The project will be released on Disney’s new streaming platform.
On Friday, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Disney hired Jordan Dunn and Michael Kvamme to write a script for a Prince Anders movie, which would be released on Disney+ ad will not be a sequel to Aladdin. THR added that a sequel to Aladdin is “in the planning stages.”
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The Anders movie will be produced by Aladdin producers Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich, with Rideback’s Ryan Halprin as executive producer. Magnussen was the one who came to the producers with a story idea, and Disney liked it enough to hire writers.
So the main star of the film hasn’t had an audition since it opened, yet the white actor who no one remembers gets a spin-off. Freakin what ??
— Ryan Lamont Brown (@Theguitarkid93) December 6, 2019
Magnussen’s character was an original creation for the live-action Aladdin movie and did not appear in the 1992 animated film. Anders is a prince from the fictional Skanland and was trying for Princess Jasmine’s hand in marriage.
By scene stealing do you mean his character stole a role that could have been written for a MENA actor? https://t.co/B93avRHjjx
— Hanna Ines Flint (@HannaFlint) December 7, 2019
Fans have not been happy with the news, which came just two days after Mena Massoud, who played Aladdin, revealed that he has not had an audition since the movie was released. Yet, Disney is already thinking about what to do next with Magnussen’s character.
“I’m kind of tired of staying quiet about it. I want people to know that it’s not always dandelions and roses when you’re doing something like Aladdin,” the actor told The Daily Beast. “‘He must have made millions. He must be getting all these offers.’ It’s none of those things. I haven’t had a single audition since Aladdin came out.”
So Disney:
1) Wrote a white character into the film that wasn’t in the cartoon
2) Gives him his own spinoff while the non-white actors aren’t even getting auditions after starring in a billion+ blockbuster
That’s Hollywood’s racism in a nutshell.
— Left Winger in the Midwest (@LeftyMidwesty) December 6, 2019
Massoud later said the situation is “wild to a lot of people.”
“People have these ideas in their head. It’s like, I’m sitting here being like, OK, Aladdin just hit $1 billion,” he said. “Can I at least get an audition? Like I’m not expecting you to be like, here’s Batman. But can I just get in the room? Like, can you just give me a chance? So it’s not always what you think.”
they really thought it was a good idea to announce they’re giving a white secondary character his own show days after the star of the movie said he hasn’t gotten any auditions since? pic.twitter.com/YdPmoVPwEg
— Fake President (@TaylorKsCalves) December 6, 2019
Aladdin was released in May, and went on to gross $1.05 billion worldwide. The film was directed by Guy Ritchie, with Will Smith as the Genie, Naomi Scott as Jasmine and Marwan Kenzari as Jafar.
Photo credit: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic/Getty Images
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