New Aladdin Trailer Reveals Will Smith as Genie

During the Grammys last night, Disney revealed a new trailer for their upcoming live-action Aladdin remake. You can see the trailer down below:

Will Smith is stepping into the role of Genie, that was made famous by the late Robin Williams. While talking to Entertainment Weekly, Smith discussed stepping into the iconic role:

“I produced The Karate Kid with my son Jaden, so whenever you’re doing things that are iconic, it’s always terrifying. The question is always, where was there meat left on the bone, and with the Robin Williams character, Robin didn’t leave a lot of meat on the bone.”

Smith went on to talk about how his version of Genie differs from Williams’ take on the character:

“There’s a little bit less mimicking — there’s a James Brown piece that we do but a little bit less mimicking. The thing that will be the major addition from me playing the Genie is the hip-hop base. I think that’ll be fun for people. I think it’ll stand out as unique even in the Disney world. There hasn’t been a lot of that hip-hop flavor in Disney history!”

Just trying to put out a solid performance would be hard enough but now, the focus has been put on Genie’s look. It’s hard to not point out the poor CGI, even if you are on board with this new adaptation. To be fair, Aladdin is still a few months away from hitting theaters so this can all be ironed out before then. But, you can definitely see why fans would be worried about this remake. The tweet below probably encapsulates the thoughts of many reactions:

It turns out that Will Smith’s #Aladdin Genie will haunt my nightmares

— Rebecca Iannucci (@rebeccaiannucci) February 11, 2019

Aside from the weird CGI Genie, Aladdin looks absolutely gorgeous. The movie stars Mena Massoud as Aladdin,  Naomi Scott as Princess Jasmine, Will Smith as Genie, and Marwan Kenzari as Jafar. Aladdin will hit theaters on May 24th, 2019.

What are your thoughts on Will Smith’s genie? Do you think the CGI will be improved by release? Or do you think a live-action Aladdin movie was a mistake? Let us know in the comments below!

Taylor Cole

Avid gamer and placeholder of what is now the worst selfie of all time. Mostly an Xbox/PS4 player but I have been known to destroy friendships in Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.