Mena Massoud and ‘Power Rangers’ star Naomi Scott cast as leads in Guy Ritchie’s live-action ‘Aladdin’
Disney and filmmaker Guy Ritchie may have had trouble finding their stars for Aladdin following a worldwide search, but news is that after meeting with 2,000 actors, looking for unknowns of Middle Eastern or Indian descent to play Aladdin and Jasmine, has finally ended.
Aladdin has cast Mena Massoud as the titular Aladdin and Power Rangers‘ Naomi Scott as his love interest and the princess of Agrabah, Jasmine.
Producer Dan Lin previously said “we’re not here to make Prince of Persia,” to put worries about whitewashing back when Tom Hardy (Dark Knight Rises, Mad Max: Fury Road, Dunkirk) was rumored to be linked to the project for the role of Jafar.
Ritchie also confirmed that the adaptation will take inspiration from both the animated classic and the original folk tale as it appeared in 1,001 Arabian Nights.
The script is written by John August, who wrote Go and directed The Nines.
Ritchie is coming off of two unfortunate box-office misfires with his new takes on The Man from U.N.L.E. and King Arthur, but both were considered good by many critics.
[…] Disney already battled the politically correct road to cast the leads: Will Smith, who plays the Genie, British-Indian actress Naomi Scott as Jasmine and Egyptian-born Canadian Mena Massoud in the title role. […]