Dust off your magic carpet and get ready to fly into a whole new world once again. An Aladdin live-action sequel is officially in the works, following the huge success of the 2019 reboot, which earned over a billion dollars at the box office. And while details about the project are still scarce, is it too much to hope that Aladdin's hot dad finally makes an appearance? You know you want to see how he looks in real life.
The project is in the early stages of development, according to Variety, after Disney spent months determining the creative direction of the sequel and hiring the right screenwriters. They reportedly chose screenwriters John Gatins (Power Rangers) and Andrea Berloff (Straight Outta Compton) after hearing hundreds of pitches. However, there's also no word on whether Guy Ritchie will return to direct the sequel.
While Disney is reportedly planning to ask Will Smith, Mena Massoud, and Naomi Scott to reprise their roles as the Genie, Aladdin, and Princess Jasmine, respectively, official offers haven't been made, according to the report. There's also no information as of yet on whether new characters will be introduced, but if the writers need some ideas, they should look no further than 1996's Aladdin and the King of Thieves, the third film in Disney's animated Aladdin trilogy, where his hot dad makes his debut.
The original animated Aladdin was followed by two direct-to-video sequels, 1994's The Return of Jafar and 1996's Aladdin and the King of Thieves. But according to an interview of Massoud from before the sequel was announced, a potential Aladdin follow up won't be anything fans may have seen before.
"I don't think it will be Return of Jafar, but I think there's a possibility of a sequel, yes," he told Entertainment Tonight back in October 2019. He even suggested his own ideas for a sequel. "I think they should do one just about the animals. Like, Abu, Raja, Iago and the carpet all get together. Throwing it out there!" He may have been joking, but it's not a terrible idea.
