Disney's 'Aladdin' Live-Action Star Mena Massoud Celebrates Animation's 25th Anniversary
Disney's "Aladdin" is celebrating 25 years since the theater release of the animated film. Mena Massoud, the actor who will star in the upcoming live-action version, celebrated the movie's anniversary with a couple of posts on social media.
On Twitter, Massoud shared a photo of himself holding a copy of the Blu-ray release of the original "Aladdin" from Disney. He also posted another image on Instagram, where he got more personal in expressing his feelings for the film.
"Crazy to think that when I was a one-year-old this story of Aladdin came to life," Massoud wrote in the caption. "And now, 25 years later, I have the honor & privilege to help re-tell this magical Disney story once again."
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Disney revealed Massoud's casting as Aladdin during the D23 Expo last summer. The 26-year-old Egyptian actor based in Canada bested over 2,000 people who auditioned for the role.
The new "Aladdin" also features Will Smith as the Genie, Naomi Scott as Jasmine and Marwan Kenzari as Jafar. The cast began filming the movie last September in London with director Guy Ritchie.
The original "Aladdin" animated flick actually debuted in theaters on Nov. 25, 1992. It remains one of Disney's most popular and well-loved films, which was inspired by the 1940s movie "The Thief of Baghdad."
Many stories revolved around how Williams took on the role as he unforgettable Genie. He did 25 different versions of his first scene and recorded 16 hours' worth of voice material. The film editors and the creative team struggled to choose what to use because every material was too good to be cut from the film.
Meanwhile, the live-action version of "Aladdin" with Massoud will also be a musical, as per the director. Ritchie confirmed this fact in interviews but it's not clear if the new movie will use the same songs from the animated flick.
Disney's "Aladdin" live-action is set for a May 2019 release. John August and Vanessa Taylor hold screenplay credits along with Ritchie.
