Will Smith is officially the genie! In a new trailer for the live-action Aladdin film, the actor, 50, made his debut as the all-blue genie. When Aladdin (played by Mena Massoud) rubs the lamp at the end of the video, blue smoke comes out, along with Smith’s character.
“You really don’t know who I am?” Genie asks Aladdin. “Genie, wishes, lamp … None of that ringing a bell?”
The trailer also features a glimpse of Jafar (played by Marwen Kenzari), Princess Jasmine (Naomi Scott), Abu (voiced by original actor Frank Welker), Rajah and of course, the city of Agrabah.
In December, the cast appeared on the cover of Entertainment Weekly, giving fans a first look at the live-action remake of the 1992 hit cartoon. However, on the cover, Smith was not blue. Immediately, fans were not thrilled, and Smith was forced to defend himself.
“Check Me Rockin’ the Top Knot Ponytail Vibes in @entertainmentweekly,” he wrote on Instagram when posting the cover photo. “(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.)”
On Sunday, he shared the new trailer on Instagram, adding, “I told y’all I was gon’ be Blue,” he captioned the video. “Y’all need to trust me more often!”
The actor admitted to Entertainment Weekly that he knew he had big shoes to fill, playing the role made famous by the late Robin Williams. “Whenever you’re doing things that are iconic, it’s always terrifying,” the four-time Grammy winner said. “The question is always: Where was there meat left on the bone? Robin didn’t leave a lot of meat on the bone with the character.”
Smith also noted that Williams, who died by suicide in 2014, “infused the character with a timeless version of himself,” adding that he hopes he can do the same. “I started to feel confident that I could deliver something that was an homage to Robin Williams but was musically different. 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.”
The film is directed by Guy Ritchie and also stars Billy Magnussen, Nasim Pedrad and Navid Negahban.
The spin on the Disney classic, which includes two new songs in addition to the classics, will hit theaters Friday, May 24.
