Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is in negotiations on becoming part of Disney’s Aladdin 2 cast with Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott.
Giant Freakin Robot reports the Jumanji and Moana actor Dwayne Johnson is meeting with Disney again. This time for the sequel to the live action movie Aladdin that premiered in theaters on 2019.
It’s yet to be clear as to the role he may be portraying. The sequel is in its early stages of development. Production has divulged the information though that the story will not follow the animated sequel. Producer Dan Lin had expressed they would be shooting a different story.
Disney’s Aladdin 2 Might Have Dwayne Johnson On Board
Image: Disney
In the conclusion of the first movie, Massoud’s Aladdin and Scott’s Jasmine are married. Will Smith‘s Genie came free and has become human. Marwan Kenzari‘s Jafar became much like in the animated original, a new genie trapped in the bottle for all eternity. Or not, assuming that the parameters of freeing a genie applies to him as well.
People now speculate that Dwayne Johnson is a candidate to take over Smith’s role in the story. Due to the recent event that transpired, projects with Smith’s name is put on hold, some may even be cancelled. However, this may also be the reason the production is aiming for a totally different story. Is it possible that the sequel will adapt Arabian Nights or One Thousand and One Nights? In the original animated movie the story got a mention in one of the songs. In the song “A Friend Like Me”, the late Robin Williams singing as Genie mentioned Scheherazade having a thousand tales. If they are going for that route, Dwayne Johnson can have a handful of character choices in the story.
The Disney movie Aladdin in 2019 was the live action version of the movie in 1992. The update became live-action for the current generation of audience. With a $182M budget, 2019 Aladdin got cash registers busy up to $1.047B in the Worldwide Box Office. It’s no wonder that a sequel is in the works. Because the upcoming sequel will not be following the original, Jafar’s return will be quite different.
Disney’s Aladdin 2 Might Have Dwayne Johnson On Board
In the original movie’s sequel, Aladdin 2: The Return of Jafar, Jafar focused on getting his lamp an owner. His plan was to use every means in his power to get the owner to wish his freedom. In the movie, the Genie retained some of his magic even though he is free of the lamp. There was even a sequence that Genie and Jafar had a duel. In turn, the duel demonstrated the level of power Jafar had over Genie.
Dwayne Johnson can take on a lot of roles. He has been a King before and perhaps this time, he can be a sultan. Or perhaps a father figure for Aladdin? Right now, talks would most likely cover the overarching story for the sequel. The rest is still up for a reveal.
