With Sherlock Holmes director Guy Ritchie at the helm of Disney's live-action Aladdin, no one was entirely sure what to think about the filmmaker being placed in charge of bringing the animated adventure back to the big screen. Both he, and the film, exceeded expectations, and Disney didn't hang around before officially announcing that a sequel is being developed.
The hope among many Aladdin fans is that the sequel will adapt Direct-To-VHS "classic" The Return of Jafar. That story took place one year after the events of the original film, with Jafar able to escape the lamp as he comes looking to take his revenge on Aladdin, the Genie, and Jasmine.
Unfortunately, for those hopeful fans, it's been reported that the Aladdin sequel will feature an original story, but Jafar actor Marwan Kenzari has confirmed to ComicBook.com that he would be up for returning to adapt that animated film. "I would be humbly grateful to do a second one," he confirmed while promoting The Old Guard. "It's up to the big bosses and I'm all ready."
Kenzari received a mixed response for being a more grounded Jafar than the one found in Disney's animated original, but he was delightfully evil, and could do wonders with The Return of Jafar.
As of now, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic seems to have slowed things down with the studio's live-action remakes, but there's no reason to believe this sequel isn't still being developed by Disney.
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