Last Updated: February 17, 2020
Disney’s live-action remake of Aladdin was a huge hit, and the ending laid the groundwork for a coming sequel, with Aladdin 2 now officially on the way. The studio is currently heavily invested in remaking its classic animated movies, with three remakes being released in 2019 alone: Aladdin, Dumbo, and The Lion King. There was also Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, a sequel to the Sleeping Beauty retelling Maleficent that released in 2014.
Directed by Guy Ritchie, Aladdin stars newcomer Mena Massoud in the titular role, with Naomi Scott playing Princess Jasmine and Will Smith as the Genie. The film brings back classic tunes from the 1992 animated movie like “One Jump Ahead” and “Prince Ali,” and also adds a new song for Jasmine called “Speechless.”
Aladdin smashed through box office projections with a $91 million opening weekend, securing Disney another massive success that ended up earning over $1 billion worldwide. Naturally, that profit margin has earned a sequel. Here’s what we know so far about Aladdin 2.
How Aladdin Sets Up A Sequel
Warning: SPOILERS ahead for Aladdin
Ritchie’s Aladdin follows the beats of the original movie fairly closely, right to the end - where Aladdin tricks Jafar into using his final wish to transform himself into a genie, thereby becoming trapped and powerless in a lamp of his own. Jafar’s parrot, Iago, tries to fly away, but Jafar grabs him by the tail feathers and drags him into the lamp as well. Before he vanishes into his new prison, Jafar vows to one day get revenge on Aladdin for what he has done - clear foreshadowing for a sequel, should Disney decide to make one.
As in the 1992 movie, Genie flings the lamp containing Jafar across the desert, commenting that a couple of thousand years in the Cave of Wonders ought to cool him off. However, that didn’t stick for long the first time around, as Jafar returned just a year later in the direct-to-video sequel Aladdin 2: The Return of Jafar. There are myriad ways in which Disney could bring the villain back for another showdown with Aladdin - but since this Aladdin 2 is set to be an original story, it won’t simply be a Return of Jafar remake. Beyond that, story details are being kept secret for now.
Disney Isn’t Doing The Return Of Jafar In Live-Action
In the 1992 Aladdin, Iago getting pulled into the lamp became a crucial part of the set-up for The Return of Jafar. In that movie, the parrot manages to escape the lamp before Jafar, leaves his old master behind, and decides to try and ingratiate himself with Aladdin, Jasmine, and the Sultan. However, it isn’t long before Jafar manages to dupe someone into rubbing the lamp and becoming his “master,” thereby creating an opportunity for his revenge against Aladdin.
It would certainly be interesting to see a live-action take on one of Disney’s direct-to-video sequels, and the end of Aladdin does set up the return of Jafar - as a general plot point, if not necessarily as a movie title. However, a straightforward remake probably wouldn’t work; Iago’s character is much less fleshed-out in the live-action movie, speaking only in his croaky parrot voice rather than in the dulcet tones of Gilbert Gottfried. Disney seems to realize this, based on recent reports that Aladdin 2 won’t be based on the animated Aladdin sequels.
Aladdin 2 Is Officially Happening
Athough Disney has no shortage of animated classics left to adapt, that doesn’t mean the studio isn’t also interested in making sequels to its live-action remake success stories. Alice in Wonderland, Maleficent, and The Jungle Book have sequels either already released or on the way - and of course there’s 102 Dalmatians, which was released in 2000 as a sequel to the 1996 live-action adaptation of 101 Dalmatians (which is also getting a live-action reinvention in Cruella.)
As of February 2020, Disney has officially confirmed that Aladdin 2 is on the way, with John Gatins (Flight) and Andrea Berloff (Straight Outta Compton) penning an original script. Disney hopes stars Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott, and Will Smith will all return, but they aren’t currently contracted for sequels. Director Guy Ritchie is expected to come back to helm Aladdin 2.
What Could Aladdin 2’s Release Date Be?
While Aladdin 2 is happening, it probably won’t hit theaters for some time. Disney tends to take the long road to making sequels for its live-action remakes, with Alice Through the Looking Glass releasing six years after Alice in Wonderland, and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil releasing five years after the first movie.
Disney has announced a release schedule for movies through to 2027, including several as-yet untitled live-action movies in both 2021 and 2022. While not all of these will be live-action remakes of animated movies, it’s safe to assume that quite a few of them will be. Among the current in-development projects without confirmed release dates are The Little Mermaid and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, as well as a sequel to Jon Favreau’s The Jungle Book.
Since Disney has no shortage of live-action remakes already in the pipeline, we probably won’t see Aladdin 2 for several years - perhaps in 2024 or 2025, if Disney follows a similar pattern to its Alice in Wonderland and Maleficent sequels. Maybe that will be long enough for Jafar to cool off in the Cave of Wonders.
More: All The Live-Action Disney Remakes In Development
