It has been well over a year since reports surfaced that Disney is in development on a sequel to their billion-dollar live-action remake of Aladdin. Detailed in the report was that the stars wouldn’t sign on until a script is completed and ready to go out. Well, thanks to Aladdin himself, Mena Massoud, we have a bit of an update.
While speaking with ScreenRant, Massoud stated that it is still in the works and that he and his co-stars Naomi Scott and Will Smith are not officially on board, but hopes that will change soon:
They’re working on it. They’re trying to make it happen. That’s really all I know. As you know, usually actors are the last piece of the puzzle, so the studio has got a lot to worry about before they start thinking about the actors. Obviously, I would hope that all of us come back and Naomi, Will and I all come back and the rest of the cast, Marwan, Navid, Nasim, everybody. But right now, as far as I know, they’re just working on the script and trying to make it happen.
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So as Massoud states Aladdin 2 is still far off, though, I would expect Disney to get this done thanks to the financial and critical success of the first film. The original report regarding the sequel came out just weeks before the pandemic shut down Hollywood in March of 2020 so that easily could’ve stalled any further movement. The studio was also developing a spin-off centered on the awful Billy Magnussen character Prince Anders, but that appears to be shelved and likely won’t be moving forward.
The Aladdin sequel was written by ohn Gatins (2017’s Power Rangers) and Straight Outta Compton scribe Andrea Berloff after winning over the studio with their pitch. Dan Lin and Jonathan Erich who produced the original film, and are producing the live-action Lilo & Stitch and Inspector Gadget remakes are set to return with their Rideback production banner. It is unknown but from what I hear is unlikely that director Guy Ritchie would return.
Aladdin stars Mena Massoud (Jack Ryan) as Aladdin, Naomi Scott (Power Rangers) as Jasmine, Will Smith (Bad Boys) as the iconic Genie, Marwan Kenzari (The Mummy 2017) as the villainous Jafar, Numan Acar (Prison Break) as Head of the guards Akim, Navid Negahban (Homeland) as The Sultan, Nasim Pedrad (SNL) as Dalia, Billy Magnussen (Into The Woods) as Prince Anders, and Alan Tudyk (Ralph Breaks The Internet) as the voice of Iago.
