First-look photos of Disney's Aladdin and Will Smith's Genie revealed

Auditions for the live-action musical took place across the Middle East early in the casting process, including one in Abu Dhabi

Wil Smith revealed the first poster of Disney's remake of Aladdin this week. AP 

Will Smith let the genie out the bottle, so to speak, when he gave readers of Entertainment Weekly a first look at photos of the characters and what we can expect from the much-anticipated live-action musical Aladdin.

The star, who has been hanging out in the UAE recently, made the reveal on his Facebook page. Smith, who plays the Genie, wrote on Facebook: "LEMME OUT! Can't wait for y'all to see Me BLUE."

The film will be released on May 24, 2019.

However, people on Twitter were not happy about Smith's Genie. One user admitted Aladdin and Jasmine looked good, but Smith looked "bad".

Another mockingly compared him to a Mortal Kombat – the cult video game – character.

The trailer for the upcoming musical, which is directed by Guy Ritchie, was released in October. Casting sessions took place across the Middle East, including one in Abu Dhabi, early in the process.

Disney eventually settled on Egyptian-Canadian newcomer, Mena Massoud, as Aladdin; Naomi Scott as Princess Jasmine; and Will Smith as the genie Aladdin. Dutch-Tunisian actor Marwan Kenzari is also among the supporting cast as Jafar, alongside Homeland's Iranian star Navid Negahban.

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Read more:

Marwan Kenzari may play Jafar in live-action Aladdin

Leads announced for Guy Ritchie's live-action remake of Aladdin

Disney struggle to find their Aladdin for a new live action film

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