Walt Disney Studios issued a press release yesterday to officially announce the start of principal photographhy on Guy Ritchie's upcoming live-action adaptation of the 1992 animated classic
Aladdin.
The cast will feature Mena Massoud (
Jack Ryan) as the titular hero while Naomi Scott (
Power Rangers) will play his lady love Princess Jasmine. Rounding out the cast are 2x Academy Award-nominee Will Smith as the Genie, Marwan Kenzari (
The Mummy) as the evil Jafar, Navid Negahban (
Homeland) as the Sultan, Nasim Pedrad (
New Girl) as Dalia, Billy Magnussen (
Ingrid Goes West) as Prince Anders, and Numan Acar (
Homeland) as Hakim.
Along with the production announcement, Will Smith released the first photo of him on set with Massoud, Scott, and Kenzari as they prepare for the lengthy shooting schedule, which is expected to extend into winter. Check out the photo below:
BURBANK, Calif. (September 6, 2017) – Casting for “Aladdin,” the live-action adaptation of the studio’s animated classic, is complete and production is currently underway at Longcross Studios outside London.
The “Aladdin” cast includes: Two-time Oscar® nominee Will Smith (“Ali,” “Men in Black”) as the Genie who has the power to grant three wishes to whoever possesses his magic lamp; Mena Massoud (Amazon’s “Jack Ryan”) as Aladdin, the hapless but lovable street rat who is smitten with the Sultan’s daughter; Naomi Scott (“Power Rangers”) as Princess Jasmine, the Sultan’s beautiful daughter who wants to have a say in how she lives her life; Marwan Kenzari (“Murder on the Orient Express”) as Jafar, an evil sorcerer who devises a nefarious plot to unseat the Sultan and rule Agrabah himself; Navid Negahban (“Homeland”) as the Sultan, the ruler of Agrabah who is eager to find a proper husband for his daughter, Jasmine; Nasim Pedrad (“Saturday Night Live”) as Dalia, Princess Jasmine’s hand maiden and confidante; Billy Magnussen (“Into the Woods”) as Prince Anders, a suitor from Skanland and potential husband for Princess Jasmine; and Numan Acar (“Homeland”) as Hakim, Jafar’s right-hand man and head of the palace guards.
“Aladdin” is directed by Guy Ritchie (“Sherlock Holmes,” “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.”) from a screenplay by John August (“Dark Shadows,” “Big Fish”) based on the 1992 animated film “Aladdin” and stories from “One Thousand and One Nights.” The producer is Dan Lin (“The LEGO Movie”) with Golden Globe® winner Marc Platt (“La La Land”), Jonathan Eirich (“Deathnote“) and Kevin De La Noy (“The Dark Knight Rises”) serving as executive producers. Eight-time Academy Award®-winning composer Alan Menken (“Beauty and the Beast,” “The Little Mermaid”) provides the score, which includes new recordings of the original songs written by Menken and Oscar®-winning lyricists Howard Ashman (“Little Shop of Horrors”) and Tim Rice (“The Lion King”) as well as two new songs written by Menken and Oscar® and Tony Award®-winning songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (“La La Land,” “Dear Evan Hansen”).