Will Smith Shares Cast Photo from ‘Aladdin’ Live-Action Remake

Get ready for it Disney fans! Will Smith has confirmed filming for the live-action remake of Aladdin has started!

The 48-year-old actor revealed he was playing The Genie in the Guy Ritchie reboot of the 1992 Disney-animated classic earlier this year and bosses have wasted no time getting started on production as he took to his Facebook account on Wednesday of last week to post a selfie of the new cast on the first day of shooting.

Smith captioned the shot: “We just started shooting ‘Aladdin’ and I wanted to intro you guys to our new family… Mena Massoud/Aladdin, Naomi Scott/Princess Jasmine, Marwan Kanzari/Jafar, and I’m over here gettin my Genie on. Here we go! (sic)”

The impressive cast also includes Homeland star Numan Acar who is reportedly set to play Hakim – head of the guards and right hand man to the feature’s villain Jafar.

Former Saturday Night Live star Nasim Pedrad has been chosen to play new character Mara, a handmaiden and friend to Jasmine.

Charlie and The Chocolate Factory writer John August has penned the script for the musical movie, which is believed to be non-linear in its structure, something that is a hallmark of Ritchie’s early work on movies like cult British crime romps Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch.

The story is based on the Middle Eastern folk tale of Aladdin who is granted three wishes by a genie who is captive inside a magic lamp.

The 1992 original animated feature – which saw the late great Robin Williams voice The Genie – won two Oscars, Best Music and Original Song for “A Whole New World”.
Aladdin has also been turned into a hit stage show playing at theaters all over the world.

The movie is just one of the many films that Disney are rebooting, as new versions of Dumbo, Mulan, Peter Pan, The Lion King, Pocahontas and The Little Mermaid are also in the works.