Anna Daniels
It was only a matter of time until Disney ran out of classic animated movies to remake into live-action films, and we’ve been wondering how the studio would shift gears when they inevitably decide that a remake of The Fox and the Hound probably isn’t going to cut it. Now it seems like we may have our answer about what they might do instead: spin-offs of its live-action remakes.
A new report says a live-action Aladdin spin-off is in the works, but it’s not based on Mena Massoud’s Aladdin, Naomi Scott’s Jasmine, or even Will Smith’s Genie. Nope, it’ll center on Prince Anders, the goofy-ass character played by Billy Magnussen who was in the film for all of two minutes.
The Hollywood Reporter says Disney has hired Jordan Dunn and Michael Kvamme (The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run) to write the screenplay for a Prince Anders film for Disney+, which they stress is not a sequel to Aladdin. For those who may not recall (and again, since he was barely in the film, I wouldn’t blame you if you totally forgot he existed), here’s one of Anders’ big moments:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsVOqfzuHKY?feature=oembed&w=740&h=416]
What the hell is Disney thinking? This was one of the worst parts of the live-action Aladdin, and while I generally really like Billy Magnussen (check him out in Ingrid Goes West, Game Night, and Netflix’s Maniac), whatever he was doing in this movie was not working at all. But evidently someone at the Mouse House disagrees and sees potential in this character, and Magnussen himself was reportedly helping in the development phase for this spin-off, going to the producers with an idea for the story and helping to meet with possible writers.
Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich, who produced the billion dollar hit Aladdin earlier this year, are producing this spin-off alongside Ryan Halprin.
I’d also be remiss if I didn’t point out that a huge talking point for everyone involved with the Aladdin press cycle was the film’s focus on diversity, and now one of the only white actors who has a speaking role in that movie is getting a spin-off? And at the same time, Aladdin star Mena Massoud says he hasn’t been given the chance to even audition for anything since his billion dollar movie was released? I actively dislike most of these Disney live-action remakes, but now they’re putting me in a position I never thought I’d be in: asking them to make an Aladdin sequel instead of moving forward with whatever the hell this is going to be.
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