Yet another live-action adaptation of a popular Disney animated feature is on the way as The Hollywood Reporter brings word that the studio is developing a big screen prequel to Aladdin. The project, currently titled Genies, is designed to serve as an origin story of sorts for the djinn famously voiced by the late Robin Williams in Disney’s 1992 feature film version of the classic Arabian tale.
According to the outlet, the film will explore the “realm of the Genies” and explain how one became trapped inside the iconic lamp. The long term hope, then, is for Genies to develop as a franchise and pave the way for a live-action retelling of Aladdin itself.
Friday the 13th remake scribes Damian Shannon and Mark Swift are attached to script Genies, which has Tripp Vinson attached to produce through his Vinson Films. Vinson is also attached to produce the recently-announced Prince Charming film, also in development through Disney.
Both films are part of a growing roster of live-action Disney fairy tale films heading to the big screen. Jon Favreau’s The Jungle Book hits theaters April 15, 2016 with the aforementioned Beauty and the Beast following on March 17, 2017. After that, plans call for a Tim Burton-directed Dumbo and new live-action versions of Winnie the Pooh, Mulan, Pinnochio and more. There’s also a sequel to Alice in Wonderland on the way with Alice Through the Looking Glass (arriving May 27, 2016), reports of one for Maleficent in development as well, and a live-action Peter Pan spinoff, Tink, set to star Reese Witherspoon as the iconic fairy.
