The announcement that Disney+ is developing an Aladdin spinoff starring Billy Magnussen is causing quite the uproar on social media.
News broke on Friday that the streaming service is creating a new feature based on Magnussen’s bit character Prince Anders, the dim yet hilarious visiting royal who vies for Princess Jasmine’s (Naomi Scott) hand in marriage in the 2019 live-action remake. But many people on Twitter were not happy about it due to some other Aladdin news that came out just three days prior.
You see, earlier this week Aladdin star Mena Massoud revealed in an interview with The Daily Beast that he hasn’t landed a single audition in Hollywood since headlining the movie that, to date, has made more than $1 billion for Disney.
“I’m kind of tired of staying quiet about it,” Massoud said while promoting his new Hulu series Reprisal, which he’d been cast in before heading to Agrabah. “I want people to know that it’s not always dandelions and roses when you’re doing something like Aladdin. ‘He must have made millions. He must be getting all these offers.’ It’s none of those things. I haven’t had a single audition since Aladdin came out.”
So news that a white actor who appears in just a few scenes of the movie was being given his own spinoff film just days after the 28-year-old Egypt-born lead of the box office smash revealed he can’t even get in the audition room did not go over well on Twitter.
Maybe it’s not such a whole new world after all.
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Aladdin spin-off starring Billy Magnussen in development at Disney+
Aladdin star Mena Massoud says he hasn’t ‘had a single audition’ since film came out
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