The Beauty and the Beast franchise might not be continuing as expected, but Disney’s live-action Aladdin is getting a spinoff instead. Back in February, fans were crushed to discover that Little Town, a Disney Plus series starring Luke Evans and Josh Gad, had been indefinitely shelved. Now, a few months later, we’re hearing that the Mouse House is still pressing ahead with an off-shoot of another of its hit remakes, with this one built around Prince Anders.
Wait, who’s Prince Anders? In 2019’s Aladdin reimagining, Billy Magnussen appeared as buffoonish royal Anders, an original character for this version, who was one of Jasmine’s suitors from the nation of Skanland (basically Sweden). The Prince Anders movie was first announced three years ago, but seeing as we hadn’t heard anything about it since, everyone had assumed it had been quietly cancelled.
But that’s not so as Magnussen has confirmed in an interview with Screen Rant that it’s still going strong, with the script currently being rewritten:
“It’s in development,” the No Time To Die star revealed. “We are in the stages of rewrites right now, and it’s still moving forward. Yeah, it’s really exciting … I loved making that character up, and to have the opportunity to create a world and a story with him in it has really been a treat. I love that. That’s what I really love about this industry; to play in such a way like that … To be the not-Prince-Charming Prince, you know? We always see Prince Charming, so I was like, ‘Let’s mix it up.”
This spinoff was initially the subject of some intense backlash in 2019 as folks thought it was pretty tone-deaf of Disney to give the sole white character in a movie populated by people of color his own vehicle. Especially as Anders was such a minor player in the story. In its defense, though, Magnussen’s comments above help us understand what the studio saw in the project. The idea of an anti-Prince Charming film that plays with the Disney tropes could be worthwhile.
The original screenplay came from Jordan Dunn and Michael Kvamme, but this current revamp is being penned by alternate duo Shane Andries and Chris Smith. As you would expect, this Aladdin offshoot would be a Disney Plus exclusive. Other spinoffs of Disney’s remakes that are in the works include a prequel/sequel to The Lion King from Moonlight‘s Barry Jenkins.
