Will Smith Appears as Hip-Hop Genie in First Photo From ‘Aladdin’

At long last, the first official image of Will Smith as the Genie in Disney's forthcoming, live-action Aladdin remake is here. It was revealed on the latest cover of Entertainment Weekly earlier today (Dec. 19).

Ditching the blue skin of the cartoon version voiced by the late Robin Williams more than 20 years ago, Smith rocks a blue outfit and ditches most of his hair, save for a top knot atop his head. It's an interesting look, for sure.

Speaking with EW, Smith explains that he's tried to infuse parts of Williams' interpretation of Genie with his own.

“I started to feel confident that I could deliver something that was an homage to Robin Williams but was musically different,” says Smith, who recently confirmed his participation in Bad Boys III.  “Just the flavor of the character would be different enough and unique enough that it would be in a different lane, versus trying to compete.”

Elsewhere in the cover story, Smith says his hip-hop version of the character will occupy a special place in the history of Disney films. “I think it’ll stand out as unique even in the Disney world,” Smith offers. “There hasn’t been a lot of that hip-hop flavor in Disney history.”

Peep the first image of Will Smith as Genie on the Entertainment Weekly cover below.

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