Guy Ritchie says Aladdin remake is a musical; talks Will Smith as The Genie rumours

It’s been a busy couple of years for director Guy Ritchie; next week sees the debut of his latest film, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, which while carrying a hefty price tag hasn’t been received particularly well by critics (see some of the early reactions here).

But aside from his medieval new film, the Sherlock Holmes director has two new projects on the horizon: a sequel to his 2015 film The Man From U.N.C.L.E; and booking the director’s chair for Disney’s latest big-screen remake, Aladdin, which he is currently in pre-production for.

Speaking to Nerdist while promoting King Arthur, Ritchie confirmed that the new version of the 1992 classic animation will be a musical and says he would have found it very tough to make had they not gone down the same route as Beauty and the Beast saying:

“it’d be tough not to make [Aladdin] a musical,”

He went on to say that it was “too early” to expand on the project but continued:

“…because I’ve really just immersed myself into that project. So I’m still looking for cast members, we still haven’t found exactly which direction we’re going in. I’m confident that at some stage it will reveal itself to me, but right now it’s just a bit too premature.”

In a seperate interview with EW, Ritchie was asked about the rumours of Will Smith (Suicide Squad) playing The Genie in the new film and the director was coy on the news, saying:

“I can’t give you any updates. I mean, I like Will Smith very much… It would make me very happy to be making it with him, but the whole thing is very exciting. I’m looking forward to it.”