A furore has erupted online in response to the news that Disney will release an Aladdin spin-off about a minor white character.
Fans have taken issue with the Disney+ project that will centre on Prince Anders because he replaced Prince Achmed, a character of colour in Disney’s original 1992 animation, in Guy Ritchie’s 2019 live action Aladdin reboot.
I’m…I’m actually fucking tired y’all. I’m tired of having to constantly talk about this fucking movie. First, they insisted on injecting a white prince into a film that didn’t call for one. NOW, they’re giving him a spin-offhttps://t.co/Gvi5t5gdqu
— Vaneet “Vote Labour, BITCH” Mehta (@nintendomad888) December 7, 2019
Because it should obviously be a white guy who gets a multi-millionaire spinoff from Aladdin.https://t.co/LOrHPF4NV7
— saira rao (@sairasameerarao) December 7, 2019
In the remake, Prince Anders (portrayed by Billy Magnussen) is a potential suitor for Princess Jasmine but Jasmine instead falls for the titular character.
Notably, earlier this week Mena Massoud (who portrayed Aladdin) shared his frustrations about not securing a single audition since his starring role.
The Canadian actor, who beat more than 2,000 actors to win the part of Aladdin, told The Daily Beast he hadn’t had “a single audition since Aladdin came out,” adding, “Can I at least get an audition? Like I’m not expecting you to be like, ‘Here’s Batman’. But can I just get in the room? … Can you just give me a chance?”
One fan wrote in reference to the Prince Anders spin-off and Massoud’s predicament: “So… uh… just after the news the actor who played Aladdin can’t get work, Disney announces a spin-off about the token white guy in one scene!”
So… uh… just after the news the actor who played Aladdin can’t get work, Disney announces a spin-off about the token white guy in one scene! https://t.co/2cs4U0LdLy
— Reuben Baron (@AndalusianDoge) December 6, 2019
The Hollywood Reporter writes that Magnussen apparently brought the idea of a spin-off to Disney and has been involved with the scriptwriting.
The Prince Anders spin-off will be scripted by Jordan Dunn and Michael Kvamme, and will stream via Disney+.
