Disney has entered a new age of live action remakes of their classic Animated films and we are here for it. With the casting of Donald Glover as Simba in ‘The Lion King” remake, fans are excited to see what the cast of other films will look like.
Word of an Aladdin remake came last October and the only thing revealed about the possible cast members is that Aladdin and Jasmine will both be played by Middle Eastern actors.
Naturally, the Internet went crazy with their cast theories and a ton of fans want Zayn Malik!
@ zayn, do us all a favor and go to the casting please pic.twitter.com/nnC9BtAQr5
— ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ (@artskidziam) March 12, 2017
But is he the right fit?
Zayn is an amazing singer, but can he act? That is always the threat when going with popular choice over the rational choice. If Zayn Malik gets the role and he flops that’s a highly anticipated remake gone down the drain. Also, the most obvious red flag is the simple fact that Zayn is not Middle Eastern, he is Pakistani and British. Pakistan is not a part of the Middle East, it is a part of South Asia and shares a border with India.
While it may be exciting thinking about the possibility of the former One Direction member playing a character we all know and love, it’s important to remember that generalization is how stereotypes are made.
We can love Zayn as Aladdin, but we should accept a character, who actually fits the ethnicity of the character!
Are you excited for Aladdin? Let us know some of your casts suggestions!