Fans have been given a first look at Will Smith as the Genie in Guy Ritchie’s upcoming live action remake of Aladdin.
Smith, 50, will play the loveable character, who was originally voiced by Robin Williams, alongside Mena Massoud as Aladdin and Naomi Scott as Jasmine.
A teaser image reveals Smith’s Genie is a far cry from the blue immortal from the 1994 Disney classic, with the only resemblance being the black goatee.
Smith is in human form with an almost bald head, embellished clothing and ample jewellery.
He said he was “terrified” at taking on the iconic role as he wanted to pay “homage” to Williams, who died in 2014.
“Whenever you’re doing things that are iconic, it’s always terrifying,” he told Entertainment Tonight. “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.”
He continued: “I started to feel confident that I could deliver something that was an homage to Robin Williams but was musically different. Just the flavour of the character would be different enough and unique enough that it would be in a different lane, versus trying to compete.”
Smith said he feels he will “stand out as unique” and wants to bring some “hip-hop flavour” to Disney.
Allow Exco Player content
This content is provided by Exco Player and may use cookies or similar technologies. Please click 'Allow and Continue' below to load the content.
The Genie grants Aladdin three wishes before the street urchin sets him free from the lamp in the Disney tale.
Ritchie said he wanted Smith’s Genie to be “a muscular 1970s dad”.
Read More
“He was big enough to feel like a force — not so muscular that he looked like he was counting his calories, but formidable enough to look like you knew when he was in the room,” he told the publication.
The picture comes months after a teaser trailer dropped, giving fans their first glimpse of the fictional city of Agrabah, before delving into the Cave of Wonders where Aladdin discovers the magic lamp.
Aladdin is slated for release on May 24 2019