Today marks the start of production for Disney’s latest live-action flick, Aladdin. The film stars Mena Massoud as the title character who falls in love with the Sultan’s daughter, Princess Jasmine (Naomi Scott). As with nearly all the live-action adaptations that Disney has released so far, you can expect Aladdin to stay true to the spirit of the animated original while also adding in a few contemporary elements so that it can connect to a new audience.

One of those elements is Will Smith, who will play the iconic Genie, a magical being who grants Aladdin three wishes after he frees him from his lamp imprisonment. Now with production in full swing, Smith has released a brand new photo of himself, Massoud, Scott, and Marwan Kenzari who’s playing Jafar. Check out the image below.

Though it is still in the very early days of development, Guy Ritchie‘s adaptation of Walt Disney’s animated hit, Aladdin, is coming along very nicely. While at the D23 Expo, it was announced that Egypt-born, Canada-raised Mena Massoud, and Power Rangers star Naomi Scott, would play Aladdin and Princess Jasmine, respectively. Will Smith, who was previously reported to be in talks to voice Genie, would also be confirmed for the cast.

Now the cast grows by adding two new actors. Dutch-Tunisian actor Marwan Kenzari is in talks to play Jafar, the scheming advisor to the Sultan, and SNL‘s Nasim Pedrad will join the cast as a new character created for the film. More on the story below.

In the days leading up to the D23 Expo 2017 there had been a rumor that casting for Guy Ritchie‘s Aladdin was going through some difficulty. One of the biggest ones was finding the right actor who could act and sing to play the leads. Of course, all those problems seemed to resolve themselves when Egypt-born, Canada-raised Mena Massoud, and Power Rangers‘ Naomi Scott were cast as Aladdin and Princess Jasmine. And to top it all off, Will Smith has finally been confirmed as Genie. More on the story below.

Once upon a time, not too long ago, Will Smith was in talks for a role in one of Disney’s live-action remakes of their animated classics, the new take on Dumbo being directed by Tim Burton.

That ultimately didn’t work out. But now comes word that he’s up for another Disney role, and it’s a much more well-known character than who he was going to play in Dumbo. It’s being reported that Smith has entered into early talks to take on the role of Genie in Disney’s live-action remake of Aladdin.

Disney has been putting live-action adaptations of their animated classics on the fast track to production. Recently the studio has announced a sequel to The Jungle Book, a live-action adaptation of The Lion King with Jon Favreau at the helm, and confirmed a release date for Mulan. Two out of the three titles are from the studio’s animation renaissance of the 1990s, and now they are adding another to their long list of live-action adaptations.

According to new reports, Disney has announced they will be releasing a live-action telling of Aladdin, with Guy Ritchie in talks to direct. More on the story below.