Guy Ritchie, the stylistic director behind the Robert Downey Jr-starring Sherlock Holmes movies, is in negotiations to helm Disneys live-action adaptation of its 1992 animated classic, Aladdin.
Dan Lin, who was a producer on the Holmes movies for Warner Bros., is producing what the studio will be an ambitious and non-traditional take on Aladdin via his Lin Pictures banner.
The 1992 movie was part of Disneys animation renaissance and retold the classic Middle Eastern-set folk tale of a young man granted three wishes by a genie trapped in a lamp and the evil sorcerer who covets the magical object.
The genie was voiced by Robin Williams, who won audiences over with his unrestrained performance, making Aladdin the highest-grossing film of the year. The movie also won Oscars for best score and best song, the latter for A Whole New World, one of the movies six songs.
The movie launched a small Aladdin franchise for the studio and it was in recent years translated to the stage.
John August wrote the script for the live-action version which sources say will keep many of the musical elements of the original. Still to be determined is the approach to the Genie, which to this day remains closely associated to Williams' singular and defining performance. Also, part of the non-traditional aspect of the project is the studio's intent to make it non-linear, a move right out of the Ritchie playbook.
Ritchie made his name directing snappy crime thrillers such as Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch that used that kind of storytelling. He last directed The Man from UNCLE and is in post on King Arthur, Warners upcoming take on the Camelot legend.
you still doubting the mouse after cinderella and jungle book
