News Roundup: Will Smith Joins Live Action Aladdin, Mary Poppins Motion Poster Released, and more!
There’s a lot of exciting news from last weekend’s D23 Expo! The D23 Expo is the biennial event of the Official Disney Fan Club and features performances, sneak peeks of upcoming movies and panel discussions, among others.
For starters, Disney announced the leads for its live action remake of the 1992 animated classic ‘Aladdin’. Will Smith joins the cast as the genie, along with Mena Massoud as Aladdin and Naomi Scott as Jasmine. Disney also made the announcement on their Twitter account:
ICYMI: Will Smith Will Play Genie in Live-Action Aladdin, Plus More Cast News: https://t.co/JibF0Qp7Kw ✨ #D23Expo pic.twitter.com/FEkwRDVw94
— Disney (@Disney) July 15, 2017
Smith is a two-time Oscar nominee for ‘Ali’ and ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’. Mena Massoud stars in the television series Jack Ryan, while Naomi Scott played Pink Ranger in this year’s Power Rangers movie.
Pasek and Paul to work with Alan Menken
Composer Alan Menken, who won Oscars for Aladdin’s score and the song ‘A Whole New World’, also shared that he will write music for the new film together with Pasek and Paul. The songwriting duo won an Oscar earlier this year for the song ‘City of Stars’ from ‘La La Land’, and just last month won a Tony Award for the hit musical ‘Dear Evan Hansen’.
Shooting for ‘Aladdin’ is set to begin soon under the direction of Guy Ritchie.
More Mary Poppins Sequel News
As if that wasn’t enough, a new motion poster was also unveiled for the upcoming ‘Mary Poppins Returns’!
Emily Blunt is Mary Poppins in the upcoming sequel, #MaryPoppinsReturns. The brand new film opens in theatres December 2018. #D23Expo pic.twitter.com/egxozrpRbr
— Walt Disney Studios (@DisneyStudios) July 15, 2017
The teaser shows Emily Blunt in full Poppins regalia. D23 Expo attendees were also treated to a preview of production numbers from the film, which is scheduled to hit theaters at Christmas next year.
