Disney has officially found its Aladdin, Jasmine, and Genie for the live-action Aladdin remake. The three cast members were announced at the D23 Expo last weekend.
The House of Mouse may have been having problems finding its titular Aladdin for the remake of the 1992 animated classic prior to D23 this weekend, but the same cannot be said for Jasmine and Genie. Naomi Scott has officially been cast as Princess Jasmine, while Will Smith will be taking on the Genie. Relative newcomer Mena Massoud has also joined the cast as Aladdin.
Guy Ritchie was previously announced as director.
John August, whose credits include Big Fish, wrote the new Aladdin script. Dan Lin, who produced Ritchie’s two Sherlock Holmes movies for Warner Bros., is also producing Aladdin through his Lin Pictures company. Jonathan Eirich is exec producing.
The original animated movie was a comic take on the Arabic folk tale of a young man granted three wishes by a genie trapped in a lamp. Aladdin was the highest-grossing film of the year in 1992, and won Academy Awards for best score and best song for A Whole New World.
