First look at Will Smith as Genie in live-action Aladdin

Entertainment Weekly released the very first look at Will Smith as the magical Genie in the upcoming Aladdin movie. Don’t worry, he’s still going to be blue

Loosely inspired by the Arabian folktales in “One Thousand and One Nights”, Disney’s Aladdin was a magical musical about a street slum who falls in love with a princess by the help of a genie. Released in 1992, it was one of the first Disney films to embrace other cultures without enforcing stereotypes. It hit the top of the box office that year and became one of Disney’s most popular films.

The live-action/CGI reimagining of Aladdin is fast approaching. Some can’t wait, and some are already feeling Disney remake fatigue, but so far we haven’t found reason to be disappointed. It’ll hit theaters May of next year.

More from Disney Movies

• Kid-friendly recommendations for Dia de Los Muertos
• CASETiFY launches new Disney Villains phone cases and accessories collection
• Live-action Moana release updates, cast, and everything we know so far
• Disney’s Haunted Mansion filming locations: Where was the movie filmed?
• How to watch Halloweentown on TV and streaming in 2023

Directed by Guy Ritchie, Aladdin is played by Mena Massoud and Princess Jasmine by Naomi Scott. Two young actors that look the part, but the character everyone was interested in wasn’t any of the human characters, but the blue Genie played by the late Robin Williams. The character seemed impossible to recast and anyone capable of pulling it off still wouldn’t be good enough. Therefore, they thought no one would be better than the guy who made Men in Black, Bad Boys, and Independence Day so much fun: Will Smith.

The question on everyone’s mind was how he would look, and would he be able to fill even half of the shoe size Williams left behind? The teaser trailer released in October gave a glimpse at the Cave of Wonders but showed no Genie. Only Aladdin finding the lamp.

Now, we’ve gotten our first look at Genie and it looks…not what I expected. He kind of looks like Will Smith but in a pony tail. As if The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air walked on set and took a picture with the cast.

The picture, released by EW, features Smith, Massoud, and Scott all together as their iconic characters (let me just say that Jasmine is strikingly similar to her animated counterpart!) and Smith stands above them all with a look on his face that shouts, “I have arrived!”

Smith is in a regular human form, which is explained to be a disguise when he’s around other people. Smith answered various “why aren’t you blue” complaints by explaining that he’ll be CGI for most of the film and his “human” look is only temporary. According to EW, the effects aren’t finished on Smith’s blue floating form and they won’t release a full trailer until they’re done.

Ritchie teased Smith’s final look, claiming Genie looks like “a muscular 1970s dad” in his complete form.

"“He was big enough to feel like a force — not so muscular that he looked like he was counting his calories, but formidable enough to look like you knew when he was in the room.”"

He went on to explain that Smith’s version of the character is a bit more egotistical than Williams’ one. Smith himself has said that he’s aiming to create a cross between an homage to Williams’ Genie and the wise-cracking-doesn’t-play-by-the-rules character he’s known for.

"“Whenever you’re doing things that are iconic, it’s always terrifying. The question is always: Where was there meat left on the bone? Robin didn’t leave a lot of meat on the bone with the character.I started to feel confident that I could deliver something that was an homage to Robin Williams 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.”"

Sounds a little cocky, but maybe he’ll do a good job. I’m not going to judge before I see it.

The film itself should be a true homage to Middle Eastern culture. Part of filming took place in the Wadi Rum desert in Jordan and the rest took place on a huge set built in an area the size of two football stadiums.

Production designer Gemma Jackson drew inspiration from Moroccan, Persian, and Turkish cultures, Victorian paintings, and Iznik ceramics when making the sets. Ritchie, along with Jackson, was assisted by several cultural advisers on set, determined to keep the story true to its roots and respectfully portray the culture.

Aladdin will be released May 24, 2019