You won't need a magic lamp to see Will Smith mystically appearing in Disney and director Guy Ritchie's Aladdin. A big cheque book will suffice.
The Fresh Prince is in talks to turn blue on the big screen, following in the footsteps of the late Robin Williams as the loveable Genie in the upcoming live-action movie musical, according to Deadline.
It's early days for talks between Will and Disney, so nothing is official just yet. There's certainly a possibility that a deal could fall apart, like it did when the actor was briefly in talks to join Tim Burton's Dumbo.
On paper, Will seems like a natural choice to take over a role as iconic as Aladdin's Genie, since — like the late Robin Williams — his comedy chops are pretty legendary.
Although Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch director Guy Ritchie might initially strike some as a bizarre choice for Aladdin, most of the advance buzz on the project is positive.
Producer Dan Lin recently promised that Aladdin would avoid any whitewashing controversy by anchoring the movie around a diverse cast — who are expected to be revealed soon.
The Taiwanese-born producer assured Collider: "Look at me. I mean, I'm not a typical guy. Listen, I'm very fortunate working in Hollywood; I am diverse. So when I came in to make the movie, I wanted to make a diverse version of the movie.
"Luckily for me Guy Ritchie has the same vision and Disney has the same vision, so we're not here to make Prince of Persia. We want to make a movie that's authentic to that world."
(Prince of Persia)
Aladdin doesn't have a release date yet, but it's expecting to begin filming this summer.
