- caption
- Will Smith is taking over the role of the Genie from Robin Williams, who died in 2014.
- source
- Walt Disney Studios
- A new trailer for Disney’s live-action remake of “Aladdin” premiered during the Grammys on Sunday night.
- It gave fans their first clear look at Will Smith as the iconic blue Genie.
- People were quick to react with shock and horror – and the image has now become a meme online.
Disney is working its way through a roster of live-action remakes of its classic animated movies, and “Aladdin” is next on deck.
Following the release of a new trailer during Sunday night’s Grammy Awards, as INSIDER’s Kim Renfro previously reported, people are feeling dubious about the choice to do a live-action cast with a CGI version of Will Smith as the iconic Genie. Many people found the blue body with Smith’s face imposed on top either “terrifying” or just downright uncanny.
A few days later, fans have had some time to sit with the image – and, as with anything mildly off-putting on the internet, it’s become a ubiquitous meme.
Some viewers came up with hilariously accurate comparisons.
This looks like an auto insurance commercial that comes on at 2 am pic.twitter.com/RNyTNAgMBK
— Matt Buechele (@mattbooshell) February 11, 2019
Will Smith as the genie looks like what one of those kids from the 90’s Fruit Gushers commercials would look like if they never found a cure for their fruit curse.
— Jhonen Vasquez (@JhonenV) February 11, 2019
— Matthew Mojica (@BoxingSins) February 11, 2019
Cant top the original… pic.twitter.com/vMMPfyupXI
— @JWInfo (@JWInfo) February 11, 2019
Same energy pic.twitter.com/knN8TXWn8F
— Octo! (@Octopimp) February 11, 2019
The Will Smith genie looks like it's airbrushed on an unlicensed rollercoaster that dislocates shoulders
— TOM (@tomwalkerisgood) February 11, 2019
They made the genie emoji ????♂️ into a real person ???????? #genie #reallife pic.twitter.com/30iHzfHJtr
— Pedro Sorto (@HokiePedro) February 11, 2019
First look of Thanos’s cousin “Lewis” from the upcoming Marvel film "Avengers: Endgame" #Aladdin #Genie pic.twitter.com/w7AqmAqTPM
— Juan Miguel Deleon (@Videogameboypro) February 11, 2019
Will Smith’s genie looks like Mike Tyson auditioning for the Blue Man Group pic.twitter.com/N9W4u8Er3k
— Unhappy Gilmore (@scuntpunt) February 12, 2019
Others have felt geniunely haunted by the image, joking that it’s the stuff of nightmares and sleep paralysis.
Caption This pic.twitter.com/XmhhbBXy6T
— Matthew A. Cherry (@MatthewACherry) February 11, 2019
They premiered this image at night??? We are supposed to sleep after this??? I have never known peace pic.twitter.com/zUzl8X1Axw
— Kyle Buchanan (@kylebuchanan) February 11, 2019
*checks Twitter for the last time before bed*
…. this image will now be haunting my dreams.#Aladdin #Aladdintrailer #Genie pic.twitter.com/91mv3hY8RU— Steph (@stephimus_prime) February 11, 2019
Will Smith genie is what appears in my room when I have sleep paralysis pic.twitter.com/NzMDOgvkkz
— Jenny Nicholson (@JennyENicholson) February 11, 2019
Literally can’t sleep because this is burned into my eyelids. #aladdin #genie pic.twitter.com/9gcisv96xH
— ????DJNV (@Nick_Vera) February 11, 2019
Imagine going to sleep after seeing Will Smith’s Genie and thinking you won’t wake up at 3am with cold sweats after having nightmares about it. pic.twitter.com/RtZBbfyycN
— Jeramy Wainwright (@JeramyWainwrigh) February 11, 2019
“Aladdin,” directed by Guy Ritchie and starring Naomi Scott as Princess Jasmine and Mena Massoud as Aladdin, arrives in theaters on May 24.
You can watch the newly released trailer below.
- Read more:
- Our first look at Will Smith’s Genie in Disney’s ‘Aladdin’ remake has people seriously questioning the movie
- Everyone’s talking about the Genie, but the new ‘Aladdin’ trailer teased a fan favorite you may have overlooked
- Here’s the cast of Disney’s live-action ‘Aladdin’ and who they’re playing
- Disney has 21 live-action movies of its animated classics planned – here they all are