16 Jun – Lately there have been rumours that Little Mix's Jade Thirlwall was offered the role of Jasmine in Disney's planned "Aladdin" live action remake. Thirlwall herself has remained quiet about the rumours, but she did tell Teen Vogue in an interview at Capital's Summertime Ball that: "I cannot confirm or deny that, but the group comes first anyways, regardless of whatever happens." So there is still a chance that the rumours are true. But if she truly does prioritise her girl group over all else, then she might end up turning down the role since it usually takes up to months to shoot a movie, thus Thirlwall would have less time to focus on Little Mix.
In recent years, the original 1992 "Aladdin" went under fire for making the main characters have more Caucasian-like features while the character that looks more traditionally Arabian, Ja'far is the movie's villain. The creative minds of the remake have been carrying out a worldwide search for actors since they are set on having a diverse cast fitting of the characters in "Aladdin". Thirlwall, with Yemeni and Egyptian ancestry on her mother's side, certainly fits the look of Princess Jasmine and she can undoubtedly sing, but some fans of the movie are a little peeved at the thought of the filmmakers choosing someone who's only partially Arabian for the role. More controversially, Tom Hardy was reportedly being considered for the role of the evil wizard Ja'far, making fans believe it to be yet another example of Hollywood whitewashing. There have also been rumours of Will Smith being offered the role of Genie, a character that was originally voiced by the legendary Robin Williams. Guy Ritchie is set to direct the movie and John August will be writing a script that will be heavily based on the original animated classic. So far, no release date has been announced for the movie. (Photo Source: Christopher Peterson | Splash News)