Following the success of "Cinderella," "The Jungle Book," and "Beauty and the Beast," Guy Ritchie's "Aladdin" is among Disney's live-action projects in the pipeline. After hiring a fittingly diverse cast as promised, the director is now said to be taking a careful approach in helming the film.
Cast member Nevar Negahban, who will play Jasmine's father in the movie, recently discussed to Screen Rant how careful Ritchie was when developing the cast. He praised the director's attention to detail and the respect he had for its characters.
"Guy's point of view goes deeper," he said. "One of the things he wanted to do and he was very, very cautious about it and he was emphasizing on that he wants to be very respectful to the characters."
Negahban says Ritchie aims to explore the characters deeper and make the film enjoyable regardless how old the viewers are. He also teased the costumes that have apparently already been made, describing them as both "gorgeous" and "unbelievable.
Judging by his statement, it now seems as if fans could put a little faith in Ritchie's vision for the characters. However, the live-action movie is not out of the woods just yet. Disturbing news of browning up extras on the Surrey, United Kingdom set of "Aladdin" made headlines almost simultaneously with Negahban's statement about "respect."
Kaushal Odedra, who worked as a stand-in for Mena Massoud's Aladdin and an extra in other scenes revealed to The Sunday Times that he witnessed about 20 white people waiting to get "tanned" to play extras or bit parts in the film. He said it troubled him but was told it was pretty normal.
Ritchie has yet to release a comment, but casting professionals confirmed to the publication it is indeed not an unusual practice. "If we don't have enough people of a particular ethnic group on our books, we will source people from the required group," Laura Shepphard of the casting company that supplied extras to "Aladdin" said.
In response to the controversy, Disney insisted: "This is the most diverse cast ever assembled for a Disney live action production. More than 400 of the 500 background performers were Indian, Middle Eastern, African, Mediterranean and Asian."
The said allegations are only the latest racial controversy involving the production. "Aladdin" previously received some complaints for casting Naomi Scott -- a light-skinned actress of British and Indian origin, best known as The Pink Ranger in the 2017 "Power Rangers" reboot -- as Princess Jasmine, after an extensive worldwide casting call. The newly created role of Prince Anders raised eyebrows as well, with some accusing it of being a white-washed version of Aladdin's rival, Prince Achmed.
