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Will Smith reassures 'Aladdin' fans that his Genie will be BLUE

Mena Massoud and Will Smith in Disney’s Aladdin (Credit: EW)
Mena Massoud and Will Smith in Disney’s Aladdin (Credit: EW)

Hoping to calm things on the internet down a bit, Will Smith has confirmed that his Genie in Disney’s live-action remake of Aladdin will be blue after all.

The first look at Smith and his co-stars Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott was unveiled on the cover of Entertainment Weekly in the US yesterday, but fans of the original movie were quick to note that Smith appeared not to be glowing shade of iridescent blue.

Posting to Facebook, he said: “BAM!! First look at the Genie, Princess Jasmine, and Aladdin! Check Me Rockin’ the Top Knot Ponytail Vibes in Entertainment Weekly (and yes, I’m gonna be BLUE! This is how the Genie is in Human / Disguise Form. My character will be CGI most of the movie.)”


Thanks for clearing that up, Will.

The movie is being helmed by Guy Ritchie, and will find Smith taking on the role of the Genie, made iconic by the late Robin Williams.

Smith has said that he’ll be basing his performance firmly in the world of hip hop.

“After I watched the movie a few times, I saw where Robin Williams infused the character with a timeless version of himself, so I said to myself, ‘What if I just infuse the character with a timeless version of myself?’ And then that opened up for me… hip-hop, it opened up fashion,” he said.

“Because the Genie is timeless, you get to really say and do anything so I started to feel confident that I could deliver something that was an homage to Robin Willians but was musically different and 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.”

He also said that filling Williams’ shoes is a terrifying prospect.

“I produced The Karate Kid with my son Jaden, so whenever you’re doing things that are iconic, it’s always terrifying,” he added.

“The question is always, where was there meat left on the bone, and with the Robin Williams character, Robin didn’t leave a lot of meat on the bone.”

The movie will hit screens in May, 2019.

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