First Look: Will Smith adds West Philly flavor as the genie in ‘Aladdin’ movie and the internet has thoughts

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Entertainment Weekly is giving movie fans their first-look at Will Smith as the genie in the upcoming Disney reboot of the classic Aladdin movie.

And, of course, the internet had questions.

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Smith has assumed the live-action role of the big, blue genie who’s always got jokes, opposite co-stars Naomi Scott as Jasmine and Mena Massoud as Aladdin.

For Smith, he knew there were big shoes to fill given that genie was voiced by late actor Robin Williams who truly embodied the role.

“I started to feel confident that I could deliver something that was an homage to Robin Williams but was musically different,” Smith told Entertainment Weekly. “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.”

“Whenever you’re doing things that are iconic, it’s always terrifying,” Smith tells EW. “The question is always: Where was there meat left on the bone? Robin didn’t leave a lot of meat on the bone with the character.”

As for Smith’s look in the highly anticipated movie, the internet has a few thoughts.

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And for those concerned that the genie wouldn’t be blue, Smith was at the ready to calm their fears.

Smith definitely believes he’ll leave his mark on the classic tale.

“I think it’ll stand out as unique even in the Disney world,” Smith says. “There hasn’t been a lot of that hip-hop flavor in Disney history.”

Aladdin will hit theaters May 24, 2019.