We finally got a half-way decent trailer for Disney's upcoming live-action adaptation of ALADDIN earlier this morning, and now we have a little piece of casting news to go along with it. THR has reported that Alan Tudyk will be stepping into Gilbert Gottfried's shoes and voicing Iago, the wise-cracking parrot and sidekick to Jafar.
Although we've seen Iago in the trailers for ALADDIN, we have yet to have heard him speak, so now we know a little of what he'll sound like in the finished product. Alan Tudyk is certainly no stranger to voice-acting, particularly in Disney movies, as he's voiced characters in WRECK-IT RALPH, FROZEN, BIG HERO 6, ZOOTOPIA, MOANA, ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY, and many more. Much like Robin Williams as the Genie, Gilbert Gottfried will be a tough act to follow, but I'm grateful that director Guy Ritchie seems to be charting a new path rather than trying to imitate performances which can't be replicated. In addition to Alan Tudyk, ALADDIN stars Mena Massoud as Aladdin, Naomi Scott as Jasmine, Marwan Kenzari as Jafar, Navid Negahban as The Sultan, and, of course, Will Smith as the Genie.
ALADDIN will premiere on May 24, 2019, but it's not the only of Disney's live-action remakes hitting theaters this year as Tim Burton's DUMBO is slated for a March 28th release, followed by Jon Favreau's THE LION KING on July 19, 2019.