Anna Daniels
Disney officially orders Aladdin sequel
Though it received a mixed reception from critics, audiences seemed to connect with Disney’s live-action adaptation of Aladdin, pushing it to over $1 billion at the global box office, and the House of Mouse is following the money as they have officially greenlit a sequel, according to Variety.
RELATED: Disney ‘Certainly Talking’ About an Aladdin Sequel
Talks have been underway for a sequel since August ’19, a few months after the film’s release, with producer Dan Lin expressing interest in bringing director Guy Ritchie (The Gentlemen) back for a follow-up that won’t adapt the direct-to-video sequel Return of Jafar. After spending six months of looking for the proper story path, the studio has reportedly found the right angle based on a pitch from Flight‘s John Gatnis and Straight Outta Compton‘s Andrea Berloff, who have been tapped to pen the sequel.
Lin is set to return as producer alongside Jonathan Elrich, who produced the original film, through their Rideback banner, with Ryan Halprin set to executive produce. It’s unclear if Ritchie or the three lead stars will return for the follow-up, but plans are to wait on extending contract offers until the script is finished.
The sequel marks the second follow-up in development to the film, with a spin-off focused on Billy Magnussen’s Prince Anders is in development for release on the booming new streaming service, Disney+, which initially drew ire from fans upset that the film surrounding POC characters wasn’t set to get a follow-up while a film focused on the sole white character was planned.
RELATED: Aladdin Review
Two-time Oscar nominee Will Smith (Ali, Men in Black) stars as the Genie in the new film alongside Mena Massoud (Amazon’s Jack Ryan) as Aladdin, the hapless but lovable street rat who is smitten with the Sultan’s daughter. Naomi Scott (Power Rangers) stars as Princess Jasmine, the Sultan’s beautiful daughter who wants to have a say in how she lives her life with Marwan Kenzari (Murder on the Orient Express) as Jafar, an evil sorcerer who devises a nefarious plot to unseat the Sultan and rule Agrabah himself.
Aladdin will be released on Digital on August 27th, followed by a DVD/Blu-ray/4K Ultra HD release on September 10.
Written by: CS
