Disney has increasingly been awarding the green light to sequels for live-action remakes of the studio’s animated classics, which is corporate synergy at its finest. Emma Stone’s Cruella de Vil will be returning for another adventure, Angelina Jolie’s third Maleficent already has a script and Barry Jenkins’ follow up to The Lion King is gathering a cast as we speak, but official news on another Aladdin has been hard to come by.
Guy Ritchie’s blockbuster earned over a billion dollars at the box office, even if reviews weren’t universally glowing. Perhaps the most surprising thing about Aladdin was that Will Smith’s Genie was arguably the best thing about it, despite all of the backlash and negativity during the buildup that described his big blue alter ego as the stuff of nightmares.
A second installment was confirmed to be in development in February of last year, with Mena Massound and Naomi Scott returning alongside Smith. That’s about as much as we’ve heard, but in a new interview with ScreenRant, the leading man shared a brief update.
“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.”
John Gatins and Andrea Berloff were tasked to write the script, but looking at how busy Ritchie has been keeping himself in since helming the opener, there’s no word on whether the director will be back. The Disney remake business is still booming, and given Aladdin‘s name value and popularity, another billion should be viewed as the bare minimum when the movie eventually arrives.