Live-action remakes of popular Disney films are rough, highly disputed terrain. Even Beauty and the Beast starring Emma Watson, which remains one of the highest-grossing domestic films, faced backlash for its queer character.
Aladdin is no exception. After not-so-gracefully crossing the hurdle of casting, Entertainment Weekly is releasing the first look of the live-action remake. Princess Jasmine? Cool. Aladdin? Fine. Will Smith’s genie? Not so great.
Who could forget that the original genie in the beloved animated classic was voiced by the late, great Robin Williams, Smith already had huge shoes to fill when it came to this magical blue role, but the EW cover instantly had fans concerned for a number of reasons.
First of all, he’s not blue. The actor quickly addressed this criticism on his Instagram, saying the EW photos merely show off his human disguise. According to Smith, he will be blue and mostly CGI for the actual film.
