Live-Action Aladdin Trailer Reveals Will Smith's Genie And It's So Weird

Disney has released a new trailer for its upcoming live-action Aladdin. It's a fine trailer, complete with colourful city shots and dark, ominous tones, but the real meat of the matter is at the end.

Will Smith's CG version of the Genie is revealed, and, well, have a look for yourself in the video embed above.

I have questions. Why does Will Smith's Genie look like a blue Shrek? Also why has the Genie been hitting the gym? Will Smith also plays a live-action version of the Genie, and you can see an image of him here.

Smith previously spoke to EW about the "terrifying" job of playing the Genie. As you may remember, the late Robin Williams portrayed the Genie in the animated classic, and he leaves very big shoes to fill.

"Robin didn't leave a lot of meat on the bone with the character," Smith said. "[But] I started to feel confident that I could deliver something that was an homage to Robin Williams but was musically different. 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."

Disney describes the movie as a "thrilling and vibrant" take on Disney's classic animated film. It's directed by Guy Ritchie, and the Sherlock Holmes director's trademark "fast-paced, visceral action" is said to infuse his take on Aladdin.

Mena Massoud plays Aladdin, while Naomi Scott portrays Jasmine. Marwan Kenzari plays Jafar and Navid Negahban plays the Sultan. Alan Menken, who worked on the music for the original Aladdin, is back again and contributing "recordings of the original songs" from the first film. In addition to new versions of the classics, Menken and award-winning songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul wrote two new tunes for the film.

The new Aladdin hits theatres this May. The studio that made Sharknado, Transmorphers, and Abraham Lincoln Vs. Zombies is making its own Aladdin.