Disney’s live-action remakes of animated classics have proven both popular and lucrative, so not surprisingly, they keep attracting well-known talent. Will Smith may soon be the latest star to join the fun. The actor is in early talks to play the Genie in the new Aladdin, Deadline reports.
The upcoming adaptation is set to be directed by Guy Ritchie and will retell the story of everybody’s favorite street-rat-turned-prince. If Smith plays the Genie, he’ll take over the role voiced by Robin Williams in the 1992 film. Those are big shoes to fill, but Smith has the acting chops, not to mention the musical background, to pull it off.
Like its predecessor, the live-action Aladdin will be a musical, giving Smith, who was a rapper before he was an actor, a chance to perform musical numbers like “Friend Like Me.” Whether or not the casting will become official, though, remains to be seen. Smith was previously said to be in talks for a role in Disney’s upcoming Dumbo but never reached a deal, according to Deadline.
Disney has been riding high on the success of its live-action adaptations the last few years, especially its most recent, Beauty and the Beast, starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens. The film set multiple opening weekend records in March and has brought in more than $1 billion, according to Box Office Mojo data. Although not as wildly successful, Disney’s live-action retellings of The Jungle Book (2016), Maleficent (2014), and Alice in Wonderland (2010), also did the studio proud.
The new Aladdin will have its chance to impress as well. The story will again center on a poor young man who falls in love with a princess and uses wishes from a genie to win her over. Based on a classic tale, the 1992 film was written by John August.
Aladdin is expected to begin shooting in July in the U.K.
Some of the best shots in Grok Imagine’s AI-made Odyssey don’t contain actors. Ancient landscapes stretch into the distance. Close-ups of grimy hands suggest people who have touched something rougher than a keyboard. For a few seconds, the illusion holds.
https://twitter.com/imagine/status/2113712964419063911
YouTube videos could soon look better without eating quite so much data, right? Thankfully, the platform plans to introduce a new video format called AV2 on its web player in early 2027, promising more efficient streaming and potentially fewer playback hiccups on slower internet connections. The big headline is a roughly 30% improvement in compression efficiency over AV1, YouTube's existing video format. That doesn't guarantee every video will use 30% less data, but it could make streaming a little easier on both internet connections and data allowances.
What is AV2, and why should viewers care?
YouTube is changing how its Home page works, giving viewers more control over what shows up there and making some of the app’s most-used sections easier to reach. Custom Feeds are now replacing the existing topic chips for eligible users, while YouTube is also testing a redesigned top bar on mobile that moves Subscriptions closer to the Home feed.
YouTube first started experimenting with Custom Feeds earlier this year, letting you type out what you wanted to watch and turning that request into its own stream of recommendations. Now, the feature is starting to look less like a side experiment and more like something YouTube actually wants people to use as part of their everyday Home page.