First live-action Aladdin teaser brings the Disney movie to life | Gaming News

Disney has debuted a first look at Guy Ritchie’s live-action Aladdin movie, which stars Mena Massoud as Aladdin, Naomi Scott as Jasmine and Will Smith in the role of Aladdin’s flamboyant friend, Genie. But don’t expect a look of the iconic blue being just yet.

Aladdin follows the basic premise of the original movie, and the trailer is beholden to those early moments, giving us a glimpse of Agrabah and the Cave of Wonders. We see Massoud as Aladdin, but before we can get any big reveal… it’s over. A true tease.

Disney first announced that a live-action version of Aladdin was in the works in October 2016. The film’s production wasn’t without its issues. Production on the film was pushed back several months in 2017, as the search for the right actors to play the lead roles of Aladdin and Princess Jasmine took longer than expected. Disney then faced an onslaught of criticism after reports came out in early 2018 that the company was using brown face paint to blend extras into the background during certain scenes. Disney responded to the allegations with a statement, according to the BBC, which read:

Diversity of our cast and background performers was a requirement and only in a handful of instances when it was a matter of specialty skills, safety and control (special effects rigs, stunt performers and handling of animals) were crew made up to blend in.

Aladdin is just one of many live-action or hybrid live-action adaptations of previous Disney animated movies. The Lion King, Lilo and Stitch, Dumbo, The Little Mermaid, Lady and the Tramp and Mulan are also set to receive live-action or hybrid live-action/CGI remakes.

Aladdin stars Massoud, Scott, and Smith alongside Nasim Pedrad (Dalia), Billy Magnussen (Prince Anders) and Marwan Kenzari (Jafar). The movie arrives to theaters on May 24, 2019.