While we all sit around and wait for Guy Ritchie to get started on that third Sherlock Holmes picture with Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law we keep being teased about, the British director has found another project to be working on. According to Deadline, Ritchie is in talks to direct a live action version of Disney’s animated Aladdin.
The project is part of Disney’s push to reimagine a number of their animated properties as live action films. So far the studio has very lucrative luck with Maleficent and Cinderella. Most recently their live action version of The Jungle Book directed by Jon Favreau brought in $965 million worldwide.
The original Aladdin starred Robin Williams as the voice of the manic Genie of the magic lamp that the titular found and freed in exchange for the granting of three wishes. The film was virtually an instant classic and netted both Academy Awards in the Best Music Category – Song and Score – that year. It also launched two direct-to-video sequels and has become a staple brand in the studio’s theme parks and merchandising.
Deadline reports that the hope is that Aladdin could launch a franchise of sequels. The studio currently has a live action version of Beauty And The Beast arriving in theaters on March 17 and live-action versions of their animated hits The Lion King and Mulan in the development pipeline.
