Will Smith’s Billion-Dollar Disney Movie Has a Secret Inspired by Tom Cruise and His Top Gun 2 Co-Star Jennifer Connelly
Aladdin is a 2019 American musical fantasy film starring Will Smith, Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott, Marwan Kenzari, and others. It is a live-action remake of the 1992 Disney animated film of the same name based on the French addition to the Middle Eastern folktale One Thousand and One Nights, Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp. The personalities of Princess Jasmine and Aladdin are said to be influenced by two extremely well-known celebrities.
Will Smith portrayed the Genie, and the movie managed to earn over $1 billion worldwide following its release, ranking it as the ninth highest-grossing film of 2019. Aladdin is currently the third highest-grossing and sixth most expensive re-adaptation film, according to known statistics. The response from the audience and the reviewers was divided, with questions being raised about Guy Ritchie’s direction, the usage of CGI, and Kenzari’s Jafar.
Tom Cruise and Jennifer Connelly inspired Aladdin and Princess Jasmine
According to CBR, the documentary Diamond in the Rough: The Making of Aladdin features behind-the-scenes from the movie along with interviews with the cast, including them talking about how Tom Cruise was the inspiration for the character of Aladdin, whereas actress Jennifer Connelly was the inspiration behind the character of Princess Jasmine.
The animator for Aladdin, Glen Keane, spoke to The Los Angeles Times back in 1992 revealing that Cruise influenced the character, especially after Top Gun. He explained that he originally thought of Aladdin as Michael J. Fox; short in stature with a big ego and lots of dreams, but then it was suggested to watch Tom Cruise’s Top Gun, after which he incorporated some of his characteristics into Aladdin.
“In all [Cruise’s] poses, I noticed there was a confidence, a look in his eyebrows, that gave him intensity and, at the same time, a smile that has kind of an impish look like he’s got something up his sleeve”.
Glen Keane also made Aladdin six inches taller. For Princess Jasmine, which is said to be inspired by Jennifer Connelly, the animator Mark Henn incorporated aspects of the actress’ appearance, especially her eyebrows, into how the princess was styled.
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What do we know about Aladdin 2 starring Will Smith?
Even though the 2019 movie starring Will Smith as Genie received mixed reviews from the audience and the critics, the performances of the characters/actors were highly praised and fans expressed their desire to have the sequel of the movie.
Back in 2019, the producer of the movie, Dan Lin, during a conversation with ComicBook pointed out that they would like to tell a new story with their movies adding;
“We’re looking at a lot of different source material, and it’s not going to be based on one singular source. We’re going to take the best of everything that’s been done before and create something fresh and new.”
The original animated movie included two direct-to-video sequels along with a three-season animated series.
Lin mentioned that when they made the 2019 movie they just wanted to make the best movie they could and let the audience decide if they wanted to see more. The audience did and they had received the message and will be working on more stories to tell.
There have been no updates on the project since its announcement in 2020 but Guy Ritchie stated that he would very much like to work on the sequel of the movie.
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Guy Ritchie calls Will Smith a generous gentleman
There have been speculations that the delay in the sequel could be because of the infamous slap at the Academy Awards involving Will Smith and Chris Rock, which eventually led to Smith being banned from the Academy for ten years.
An insider shared with The Sun while talking about Aladdin 2,
“He has done a lot of work on himself and the consensus is that it will all be very much in the past by the time the movie is released. The first film was a huge success, so it would be silly not to make another, and it would be a real shame to have to re-cast Will over what happened. So Disney is keen to stand by him and bring him back into the fold.”
The director had also expressed that he would very much like to work with Will Smith in the sequel.
“I’ve never met a more lovely man, and working with him was one of the most wonderful, great experiences I’ve ever had I never saw anything other than the consummate, generous gentleman. I wouldn’t have any issue casting Will Smith in anything, because, as I say, he was just the f—ing perfect gentleman.”
Aladdin is streaming on Disney+.
