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For the most part, Disney’s been having great luck with its live action remakes and re-imaginings. Case in point, last year, two such projects both crossed the billion dollar mark worldwide, the first of them being Aladdin. Now after months of talk about potentially making a sequel, word has come in that Aladdin 2 is indeed in the works over at the Mouse House.
According to Variety, Flight’s John Gatins and Straight Outta Compton’s Andrea Berloff have been hired the Aladdin 2 script. The outlet’s sources say that after six months of conversations and figuring out what direction to go in next, the producers finally figured out what they wanted to do with the follow-up.
While Variety states that it’s unclear if director Guy Ritchie will helm the sequel, THR’s own sources say he will reprise his directing duties, so it’s hard to say what’s happening on this front. Naturally it’s also expected that Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott and Will Smith will reprise their respective roles of Aladdin, Jasmine and Genie, although apparently official offers won’t be extended until the Aladdin 2 script is ready.
Speaking of the story, rather than Aladdin 2 being based off the animated direct-to-video sequels that its animated predecessor spawned, i.e. The Return of Jafar and Aladdin and the King of Thieves, this live-action sequel will be a brand-new take. Oh, and just so there’s no confusion, Aladdin 2 will be a theatrical release just like its predecessor, as opposed to being a Disney+ exclusive like Lady and the Tramp or the upcoming Peter Pan. Although let’s not forget that there is that Prince Anders spinoff that’s being made for the streaming service (which is offering a free seven-day trial).
Talk about making Aladdin 2 began shortly after the first movie came out last May, and by August, producer Dan Lin said there was serious conversations about making it happen. Lin and Jonathan Eirich will both be back to produce Aladdin 2, and Ryan Halprin is attached as an executive producer.
Assuming this does make it to the big screen, Aladdin would be the third Disney property to get a sequel in the studio’s lineup of live action remakes and re-imaginings in the modern era. 2010’s Alice in Wonderland was followed by 2016’s Alice Through the Looking Glass, and 2014’s Maleficent was followed by last year’s Maleficent: Mistress of Evil. There’s also a Jungle Book sequel in development, but there hasn’t been any major update on that project in years.
Although it was met mixed reviews, Aladdin’s global haul of $1.051 billion made it the ninth highest-grossing movie of 2019, and currently the 34th highest-grossing movie ever. Along with the folks mentioned earlier, the cast included Marwan Kenzari as Jafar, Navid Negahban as The Sultan, Nasim Pedrad as Dalia and Alan Tudyk as the voice of Iago.
Keep checking back with CinemaBlend for updates on how Aladdin 2 is coming along, but in the meantime, keep track of what movies will arrive later this year with our 2020 release schedule.
