New Aladdin images reveal best looks at Genie, Jasmine & Aladdin

December 19th 2018, 8:59am

When Disney decided to start rolling out live-action remakes to their animated classics it was only a matter of time before one adapted from ALADDIN kicked into high gear. Now we’re only about five months away from the Guy Ritchie-directed musical starring Mena Massoud as Aladdin, Naomi Scott as Jasmine and Will Smith as Genie. We got a brief teaser not too long ago and now EW has conjured up some images from the movie, revealing all three actors in their colorful costumes – and Smith’s Genie looking slightly less big and blue than you would expect.

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The first images come as part of a big spread done by EW, featuring interviews from the cast about this new take on one of Disney’s most cherished classics. Ritchie, known for his slick, fast-paced stylings said he knew his experience meant he “could add enough to make it feel fresh and worth it, but not so much so that it would wash away nostalgia.”

One of the first things you may notice in the photos is that Genie, unlike in the animated version, is not a massive, blue lamp cloud that can shapeshift as well as he grants wishes. However, this seems to be just one form the character can take, as the piece mentions the CGI simply isn’t fully ready to unveil yet. Ritchie talked about how he wanted the design to feel modern and too overdone, solidifying on a “muscular 1970s dad” that is more “self-aware” than the animated version.

“He was big enough to feel like a force — not so muscular that he looked like he was counting his calories, but formidable enough to look like you knew when he was in the room…I like the fact that our Genie has an ego and is a little bit vain and he cares about how he’s presented because he’s been doing this for a very long time.”

The original animated character was played by the late Robin Williams, who gave a vocal performance for the history books by utilizing his impression and improvisational skills to create the whacky, hilarious Genie. It’s an impossible act to follow, so Smith talked about focusing on bringing his own flair and swagger to the role in an attempt to leave a unique stamp on the Disney canon.

“I started to feel confident that I could deliver something that was an homage to Robin Williams but was musically different. Just the flavor of the character would be different enough and unique enough that it would be in a different lane, versus trying to compete…I think it’ll stand out as unique even in the Disney world. There hasn’t been a lot of that hip-hop flavor in Disney history.”

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Take a look at the photos now!