An Aladdin spin-off is in the works, as Disney is reportedly developing a spin-off of the live-action remake following Prince Anders. The project is intended to premiere on Disney+ and likely won’t be having a wide theatrical release akin to Aladdin. Billy Magnussen is expected to reprise the role from the movie, and Disney has hired Jordan Dunn and Michael Kvamme to write the screenplay. Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich are also on board to produce for Rideback, with Ryan Halprin executive producing.
Though the live-action Aladdin remake was largely faithful to its source material, it did introduce some original characters. Magnussen’s Prince Anders is one of the movie’s standout creations, thanks in large part to his amusing portrayal. Hailing from the fictional kingdom of Skanland, Anders served as a potential suitor to marry Princess Jasmine, though he only appeared in a limited capacity. Perhaps with a less charismatic actor in the role, the character would have never even been considered to get his own spin-off movie.
Aladdin is a live-action remake of Disney’s original animated movie from 1992. It stars Mena Massoud, Will Smith, Naomi Scott, Marwan Kenzari, Navid Negahban, Nsim Pedrad, and Numan Acar, and was directed by Guy Ritchie using a screenplay co-written by Ritchie and John August. Like the original, the story follows a street urchin and his pet monkey befriending a genie after discovering him trapped in a magic lamp, with the plot also focusing on Aladdin‘s romance with Princess Jasmine and his battle with the nefarious Jafar.
The news of Aladdin getting a spin-off focusing on a side character from the movie comes at an interesting time, as that movie’s lead actor recently spoke about the difficulties he has been facing in continuing his acting career. Despite starring in the blockbuster movie, Mena Massoud claims he hasn’t had a single audition since Aladdin was released earlier this year. Still, Massoud will likely be back as Aladdin once the planned sequel. To be clear, the Prince Anders spin-off starring Billy Magnussen is not the same project as the big screen Aladdin sequel which has been reported to be in the early stages of development.
It’s not surprising to see multiple potential projects spawning out of Aladdin when considering the immense profits the movie made at the box office. Using a budget of $183 million, the movie grossed over a billion dollars at the box office. It was only natural for discussions to expand the universe to begin soon after, and in addition to the Prince Anders spin-off and the rumored Aladdin sequel, there have also been reported talks of a prequel called Genies, which would explore how Will Smith’s genie wound up trapped inside the lamp.
One also has to wonder if more of these spin-offs could be in the works for Disney+. Might we next be seeing movies following Gaston from Beauty and the Beast, V. A. Vandevere from Dumbo, and the hyenas from The Lion King? At this point, none of these ideas would leave me surprised. This news comes to us from The Hollywood Reporter.
