Despite remaining hopeful in the past few years, live-action Disney star Mena Massoud is sharing a surprisingly bleak Aladdin 2 update. Massoud led the cast of the 2019 remake as the eponymous street urchin falling in love with Princess Jasmine and working with a wish-granting genie to win her heart and defeat the evil sorcerer Jafar. Despite scoring generally mixed reviews, Aladdin was a smash hit, grossing over $1 billion and leading to plans for a direct sequel and a spinoff centered on Billy Magnussen's Prince Anders.Nearly three years after the original hit theaters, one fan took to Twitter to ask Mena Massoud for an Aladdin 2 update.
The live-action Disney star responded, as seen above, with a surprisingly bleak outlook, indicating that the sequel is "very unlikely" to happen. Some took to expressing their disappointment in the comments, with one user even considering the original to be the best live-action Disney remake.
Why Aladdin 2 Is Taking So Long
Despite early excitement from Disney for follow-ups, Aladdin 2 has endured a lengthy development cycle up to this point. It took Disney nearly a year to initially even announce the sequel, waiting for a proper story before moving forward with Massoud, Will Smith, Ashley Scott and director Guy Ritchie all returning in their respective positions. Though not officially placed on hold, Smith's controversy at 2022's Oscars of slapping Chris Rock was seen as being a hindrance to its development, even as Ritchie assured he wouldn't be recast as the Genie.
Massoud's Aladdin 2 update seems surprisingly bleak in comparison to his previous comments on the sequel, with the live-action Disney star having indicated the studio were "trying to make it happen," and even saying this past December new writers had been brought in for a "brand new draft." Just this past February, Ritchie seemed similarly hopeful about the film's chances, recalling the "great experience" of making 2019's Aladdin and confirming his interest in returning.
With Smith slowly regaining ground in Hollywood as Netflix resumes development on Fast and Loose and Sony has officially greenlit Bad Boys 4, it seems possible Disney would be comfortable with bringing the actor back for Aladdin 2. Considering the studio is also reuniting with Ritchie for the live-action Hercules remake, their relationship with the director is on good footing, leaving the story and script as the biggest hurdle to overcome.
Source: Mena Massoud/Twitter