Summary
- The Aladdin spinoff film featuring Prince Anders is still in development despite pandemic setbacks.
- Star Billy Magnussen reassures fans that the project is not dead and is still progressing.
- Disney has faced challenges with spinoff projects, but the
Aladdin
project seems to be moving forward.
The Aladdin spinoff film based on the Prince Anders character is still in the works, according to its star. The movie will be based on Billy Magnussen’s character, one of Jasmine’s suitors, from the 2019 Guy Ritchie live action remake of the Disney classic. The project was first announced back in 2019, after being pitched by Magnussen himself, with Jordan Dunn and Michael Kvamme attached to pen the script. The movie’s last update came in 2022, when Magnussen told Screen Rant that the film was still in development and going through rewrites.
Talking with IndieWire, star Magnussen confirmed that the Aladdin spinoff is still in the works. The actor attributed the drawbacks to the pandemic, when he and the creative team were really putting it together. He says that “there were a few changes with a few companies” but the project isn’t dead at all. Read his full quote below:
The pandemic happened when we were really putting it together. There were a few changes with a few companies. It’s not dead. Every day is creating these beautiful stories. In my career, I just like doing fun stuff. What would I want to see, and what would I want to hang out and do? So no, it’s not dead. It’s still going.
Will Aladdin’s Prince Anders Spinoff Break A Recent Disney Curse?
The
Aladdin
spinoff, fortunately, doesn’t seem to be joining Disney’s long list of scrapped projects soon, with the reassuring comment from its star Magnussen.
Disney has been experiencing creative problems regarding spinoffs, as of late. Following 2017’s release of the live action remake of Beauty and the Beast and an impressive run at the box office, it was announced that a spinoff series focusing on Luke Evans’ Gaston took shape. Evans gave a wonderful performance and brought new depth to the iconic villain, so the idea of a series surrounding him sounded like a solid idea. However, days after casting announcements, the project was put on hold indefinitely.
More disappointment has been met when it comes to cancelled Star Wars spinoffs. One of them was a film from Guillermo del Toro which would have centered around the crime boss Jabba the Hutt. While it would have been a fascinating project from a talented director, the film never entered production. Another Star Wars spinoff at Disney that’s seen a rocky road was Patty Jenkins’ Rogue Squadron, which encountered multiple rewrites and Jenkins’ overlapping commitments with DC at the time. Though initially scrapped in March 2023, she revealed in March 2024 she signed a new deal with Lucasfilm, seemingly putting it back on track.
Related
Aladdin 2: Confirmation & Everything We Know About The Live-Action Disney Sequel
Guy Ritchie’s Alive-action remake of Aladdin was a huge hit, and despite Aladdin 2 being confirmed in 2020 the sequel isn’t here. Here’s what we know.
Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss were another pair of talents who were connected to a scrapped Star Wars project. They were reportedly set to work on a new trilogy separate from the Skywalker saga, though dropped out in 2019 due to their commitment to Netflix to work on 3 Body Problem and several movies. The Aladdin spinoff, fortunately, doesn’t seem to be joining Disney’s long list of scrapped projects soon, with the reassuring comment from its star Magnussen.
Source: IndieWire