Published 12:15 IST, December 7th 2019
Aladdin spin-off on Prince Alders to be featured on Disney+; fans unimpressed
The Aladdin live-action movie that made a billion dollars featured a new character called Prince Anders. Prince Anders is now set to get a spin-off on Disney+.
Prince Anders was a new character that was introduced in the live-action remake of Disney's Aladdin. The live-action Aladdin, which released on May 24, 2019, and starred Mena Massoud in the role of the titular character with Will Smith playing the Genie and Naomi Scott enacting Princess Jasmine, was a major success for Disney as the film made over a billion dollars at the worldwide box office. In the film, the role of Prince Anders was played by Billy Magnussen, who was a potential suitor for Jasmine's hand. It has now been announced that Prince Anders will be getting his own spin-off show on Disney's streaming service, Disney+.
Aladdin spinoff starring Billy Magnussen to be made for Disney+
With Aladdin's massive popularity, it is not surprising that Disney wanted to further expand upon the franchise. The character of Prince Anders had a very minor role in the live-action film but still was a prominent enough figure in the story to warrant a spin-off. Billy Magnussen as Prince Anders certainly stole the spotlight whenever he was on screen.
Which is why Disney+ revealed that he would be getting his own show on the streaming platform. The Prince Anders spin-off is not going to be a sequel to Aladdin, as confirmed by the Disney+ representative. Billy Magnussen will also be returning to the role of the Prince for the series. The studio has also reportedly hired Jordan Dunn and Michael Kvamme to write the script for the show. There are also reports that it was Magnussen himself who had a hand in pitching the idea for the show to Disney.
However, fans of the film are not really excited about the upcoming series and are instead calling it unnecessary. Many fans are also displeased by the fact that the Egyptian star, Mena Massoud, who played the role of Aladdin, had not gotten any auditions since the film, and instead of him, it was Billy Magnussen who was getting his own show from Disney. Many touted this to be an example of racial preference by Hollywood and Disney, saying that while Mena was unable to get an audition even after a stunning success, a white actor who played a minor role in the same film was already getting a show on Disney+.
Updated 16:05 IST, December 7th 2019