As Disney continues on their bender of turning all of their classics into live-action remakes, we’re hearing casting news left and right who will be playing our favorite characters. However, we have yet to hear about who will be playing the parts of the most beloved movies of the Disney renaissance: Aladdin. The reason is, supposedly, the company is having trouble finding the right actors.
News comes from The Hollywood Reporter that the production has been on the search since March, reportedly seeing over 2,000 actors in London, Abu Dhabi, India and Egypt, but supposedly they haven’t found anyone adequate who fits the part and can sing. This seems odd, considering that there are plenty of actors of color who have graced the world’s biggest and best stages. That and the fact that Emma Watson, who starred in the recent live-action version of Beauty and the Beast, was auto-tuned to an obnoxious degree.
Fans decided that this was no excuse for a lack of casting and began sharing their picks for the main roles of Aladdin, Jasmine, and Jafar. Dev Patel’s name came up, as well as Riz Ahmed, for Aladdin, though there is also a strong showing for Canadian actor Avan Jogia. For Jasmine, Naomi Scott from Power Rangers may be in the running, though fans also suggested Priyanka Chopra and Jade Thrilwall were also popular choices. Some even noted that Oded Fehr, from The Mummy, already played Jafar in the hit ABC series, Once Upon a Time.
Y'all are sleeping on Avan Jogia and Jade Thrilwall for Aladdin. THEY BOTH CAN SING AND LOOK SIMILAR TO THE CHARACTERS AND CAN ACT pic.twitter.com/l78ef0dZwB
— MC (@mariahnmichael) July 11, 2017
"We can't find anyone of similar descent to play Aladdin" pic.twitter.com/Vr4QBoigyL
— Catrina Dennis (@ohcatrina) July 11, 2017
Jade Hassouné exists and he's arab, talented and looks like Aladdin. So a better fit than Avan pic.twitter.com/4EyzVyFX1t
— Iman 🍊 (@muggleborns) July 12, 2017
@odedfehr is the perfect Jafar pic.twitter.com/4in6U5LtDq
— Selene (@ThisSelene) July 11, 2017
There is only one confirmed casting: Will Smith will be playing the Genie, though whether this will also be live action or CGI through motion-capture is currently unknown. The prolonged casting search could also come up with newcomers, whom the film could launch into stardom, as it has with other films, mostly recently in the case of Daisy Ridley in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Until then, fans are having a hell of a time crafting their perfect casts for the upcoming film.
