It’s not been a good year for Will Smith. Despite winning the Oscar for his performance in King Richard, the actor has been marred in controversy following the slapgate incident. Now, according to Giant Freakin Robot, the 53-year-old actor may have lost out on the upcoming Aladdin sequel as well. 

The controversy was triggered when Smith smacked comedian Chris Rock in the face, for making a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair loss condition. Following this, he has been barred from attending the ceremony for 10 years. 

But the trouble didn’t end there for Smith. Many studios including Netflix dropped the actors from their upcoming projects. So far, the actor has lost out on multiple projects including the sequel to Bad Boys, Bright, I Am Legend and a Netflix project called Fast & Loose.

If today’s reports give us any indication, it seems like Disney will be following the suit. The production house is said to be in talks with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson for an unspecified role in Aladdin 2.

While both Johnson and Disney are yet to confirm the rumours, many are speculating that it might be for the role of Genie, which was portrayed by Smith in Guy Ritchie’s 2019 adaptation. Despite unimpressive reviews, the live-action movie went on to make more than $1 billion at the box office. 

It doesn’t come as a surprise that Disney might want to cash in on the success with the sequel. Considering Johnson’s box-office pull, the idea of him replacing Smith isn’t entirely dumbfounded. However, there is also a possibility that Johnson might be cast as a completely different character, with Smith reprising his role as the Genie. 

Disney is still keeping things hush-hush about the sequel. However, it is likely that we’ll see Guy Ritchie returning to the director’s chair with Mena Massoud reprising the role of Aladdin. According to reports, Aladdin 2 is slated for 2025. 

Meanwhile, Will Smith was recently seen in India to visit Sadhguru. He’s also rumoured to have gone into “intense therapy” following the incident. The actor was also featured in a recent music video by Kendrick Lamar, which saw the rapper’s face morphing into various black celebrities, including Will Smith. 

(Image credits: Disney, The Academy of Motion Pictures)