--- title: Aladdin Casting: Disney Struggles to Cast Live-Action Remake description: Disney is reportedly struggling to cast the leads for its live-action remake of the classic story — but the internet has plenty of ideas. canonical: https://time.com/4855355/aladdin-jasmine-disney-twitter/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-07-12T20:07:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:45:19.218Z og:title: Who the Internet Wants to Play Aladdin in the New Movie og:description: Disney's live-action remake is reportedly still struggling to cast leads og:url: https://time.com/4855355/aladdin-jasmine-disney-twitter/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Who the Internet Wants to Play Aladdin in the New Movie twitter:description: Disney's live-action remake is reportedly still struggling to cast leads twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Here's Who the Internet Wants to Play Aladdin and Jasmine in Disney's Live-Action Remake > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=2b36131b-e31d-4f97-8393-490de1601878&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1)  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Jul 12, 2017 8:07 PM UTC  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Jul 12, 2017 8:07 PM UTC Disney is [reportedly](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/aladdin-movie-disney-struggles-find-stars-1019690) still on the hunt for lead actors in its live-action remake of the animated 1992 classic [_Aladdin_](http://time.com/4525871/disney-live-action-movies/item/aladdin/) — but, as ever, the Internet is here to offer plenty of suggestions. While director [Guy Ritchie](http://time.com/4775457/king-arthur-as-a-knockabout-guy/) has reportedly had over 2,000 actors read to play the roles of adventurous Aladdin and strong-willed Princess Jasmine, according to _The Hollywood Reporter_ the studio is still struggling to find just the right fit for both characters. Criteria listed on a [casting call issued](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/disneys-live-action-aladdin-holds-open-casting-call-leads-984892) in March included an age range of 18 to 25 and the ability to sing with dancing skills “a plus,” while emphasizing that the characters are of Middle Eastern descent. _Lion’s_ [Dev Patel](http://time.com/4671727/dev-patel-lion-oscars-interview/) and _The Night Of_‘s [Riz Ahmed](http://time.com/4746022/riz-ahmed-time-100-video/) have been mentioned as possibilities, but neither, it appears, has locked down the male lead. As for Jasmine, it’s believed that _Power Rangers_ actor [Naomi Scott](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4305463/) is in the running. The only relatively solid bet, casting-wise, is Will Smith, who has been confirmed to be playing the Genie, voiced in the animated original by Robin Williams. Many on Twitter have expressed confusion about the casting trouble, pointing to the vastness of the talent pool. Some have [debated](https://twitter.com/MatthewACherry/status/885129578833997826) whether actors of South Asian descent should play characters in a story set in the Middle East. At the same time, _The Hollywood Reporter_ pointed to similarly time-intensive casting efforts for past live-action movies, like the searches that ultimately landed on Lily James for the remake of [_Cinderella_](http://time.com/3743894/cinderella-review-disney-live-action/) and Daisy Ridley in [_Star Wars: The Force Awakens_](http://time.com/4307562/star-wars-daisy-ridley-shows-off-new-jedi-skills/). In those cases, a prolonged search led to a massive hit. In the meantime, the Internet has plenty of recommendations. [Avan Jogia](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2240326/), a Canadian actor who starred in the _Tut_ miniseries and the Nickelodeon sitcom _Victorious_, is a popular choice. Other users floated the comedians [Kumail Nanjiani](http://time.com/4827599/the-big-sick-camel-nanjiani-review/) and Aziz Ansari. Former One Direction singer [Zayn Malik](http://time.com/4551320/zayn-malik-anxiety/) has also come up, while [_13 Reasons Why_](http://time.com/4769997/netflix-13-reasons-why-second-season/) actor Christian Navarro even put his hat in the ring with a tweet. As for Jasmine? People are suggesting Priyanka Chopra and Jade Thirlwall of [Little Mix](http://time.com/4576541/new-music-november-2016/item/little-mix-touch/), among others. > [](https://twitter.com/deadkili/status/884848891241299969) > [](https://twitter.com/kumailn/status/884833521201807360) > [](https://twitter.com/simplysimra/status/884920166244634624) > [](https://twitter.com/mariahnmichael/status/884842992573358080) > [](https://twitter.com/WrittenByTerry/status/884904089632600064) > [](https://twitter.com/illuminatianabi/status/885201549017743361) > [](https://twitter.com/ohcatrina/status/884785218648813568) > [](https://twitter.com/ChristianLN0821/status/885146256393109505) > [](https://twitter.com/muggleborns/status/885084131847282694) > [](https://twitter.com/TonyRevolori/status/884845518643273728) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4855355/aladdin-jasmine-disney-twitter/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4855355/aladdin-jasmine-disney-twitter/"},"headline":"Here's Who the Internet Wants to Play Aladdin and Jasmine in Disney's Live-Action Remake","datePublished":"2017-07-12T20:07:15.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:45:19.218Z","description":"Disney is reportedly struggling to cast the leads for its live-action remake of the classic story — but the internet has plenty of ideas.","url":"https://time.com/4855355/aladdin-jasmine-disney-twitter/","keywords":["Newsfeed","movies","viral","twitter","Disney"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4855355/aladdin-jasmine-disney-twitter/","name":"Here's Who the Internet Wants to Play Aladdin and Jasmine in Disney's Live-Action Remake"}}]}] ```