Here's What Guy Ritchie Has to Say About Will Smith Playing Genie in the Aladdin Live-Action Remake

Disney film's director addresses the casting rumors

By Kendall Fisher May 09, 2017 8:05 PMTags
Watch: Will Smith Joining Live-Action "Aladdin" Remake as Genie?

Rumors have been swirling nonstop around the casting for the Guy Ritchie-directed Aladdin live-action remake, and one of the biggest bits of speculation to make headlines so far has been that Will Smith is in talks to play the Genie.

So what does Guy have to say?

E! News' Zuri Hall caught up with the filmmaker at the premiere of King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, and while he didn't confirm or deny anything, he also didn't hold back when it came to his hopes for the remake.

"I can't give you any updates. I mean, I like Will Smith very much," he said with a smile. "It would make me very happy to be making it with him, but the whole thing is very exciting. I'm looking forward to it."

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The live-action remake of the beloved 1992 animated musical would mark Smith's first animated movie since the 2004 film A Shark's Tale.

The original role of the Genie was voiced by the late Robin Williams, and the flick was the highest grossing film of 1992, raking in over $504 million in the box office. It also received two Academy Awards for Best Score and Best Song for "A Whole New World."

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Meanwhile, we also spoke to Guy about his 16-year-old son with Madonna, Rocco Ritchie, who currently lives with his father in London.

Apparently, Rocco gave his dad some advice for his latest King Arthur movie, but that doesn't mean he's headed down the same directing path.

"He's very creative, you know," Guy told us. "He's a very creative young man. I'm not sure if the film business is beckoning him just yet, but he's got some time."

In 2015, it became public knowledge that Rocco had refused to return home to New York City to live with Madonna, staying in London with Guy.

After that, Madonna and Guy dove into a year-old custody battle over the teenager and finally reached an agreement in September.

Though the terms of the agreement were kept private, we have not seen Madonna and Rocco together in public since.