Disney and Guy Ritchie’s live-action take on Aladdin, the classic love story with a tinge of magic, officially showcased its wares back in December and though what we saw was pretty promising, fans seemed to be split over Will Smith’s rendition of the iconic Genie.
Originally brought to life by the late, great Robin Williams, Smith obviously has some pretty big boots to fill, though given the fact that he appeared in regular human form (read: no blue skin) in the initial reveal, the Internet was fairly concerned, and understandably so. To his credit, though, the actor promised us all shortly after that the character will indeed show up as a blue, god-like deity throughout the film and sure enough, we now have a look at his other form thanks to the new trailer up above.
Though not terribly long, there’s a fair amount of fresh footage here and again, it also gives us a glimpse of Smith in blue, which is pretty exciting to see and should ease the fears of those who thought he’d remain human in the movie. Not to mention that the A-List star seems to be fitting into the role quite comfortably from what little we see of him here.
That being said, don’t expect Smith’s Genie to be just a carbon copy of what came before, as the actor’s revealed in the past that he thinks his take on the role will stand out as unique, telling Entertainment Weekly the following:
“Robin Williams infused the character with a timeless version of himself. I started to feel confident that I could deliver something that was an homage to him but was musically different. Just the flavor of the character would be different enough and unique enough that it would be in a different lane, versus trying to compete. 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.”
Director Guy Ritchie, meanwhile, had an interesting way to describe the role while chatting with EW, saying:
“The great thing about the role of the Genie is that it’s essentially a hyperbole for who that individual actor is, so it’s a wonderful platform and tapestry for an actor to fill his boots on.”
So, all’s well in the world now that we’ve seen Smith’s Genie in blue, right? Well, for the time being, yes, as Aladdin is certainly shaping up to be another promising live-action remake from the studio. And we’ll get to see for ourselves if this is another smash hit for the Mouse House when the film shows viewers a whole new world on May 24th.