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5 Reasons Dwayne Johnson is the Best Choice to Replace Will Smith in Aladdin 2

Published 05/17/2022, 12:45 PM EDT

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A few days back, a rumor popped up in Hollywood about Dwayne Johnson replacing Will Smith as Genie in Aladdin. The fans are also predicting this move can be taken by Disney anytime soon.

Will Smith, in the first part of Aladdin, nailed the famous role of Genie, which late actor Robin Williams previously did in an animation movie version. However, the recent Oscar events of Smith have paved the way for Disney to think about re-casting for his role.

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If the recast ever happens, Dwayne Johnson will be the first preference for the Disney franchise. Disney has started talking about Dwayne Johnson to play the role in the Aladdin sequel. Although they have not confirmed whether or not he is playing the role of Genie.

What could be the reasons Disney is specifically rooting for Johnson to join the Aladdin sequel? Let us discuss five reasons Dwayne Johnson can replace Will Smith in Aladdin 2 or do another role in the movie.

1. Dwayne Johnson is immensely popular, on the same level as Will Smith

It is no doubt that Dwayne Johnson is a popular actor worldwide. Debuted in WWE as The Rock Johnson grabbed immediate attention worldwide with his electrifying personality. He made a debut in a lead role in 2002 and since then there are no signs of him stopping in Hollywood.

When we compare Johnson’s popularity with Will Smith’s, both come very close to each other. Perhaps The Rock has an extra advantage due to his additional WWE fanbase, from whom some might be Disney movie fans too. 

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Johnson and Smith have done around 40 films individually in Hollywood, of which The Rock’s top 10 movies have earned more the Men in Black actor’s top 10 films.

2. Genie is a fun character, and Dwayne Johnson is known to do justice to comic roles

If you are a massive fan of Dwayne Johnson’s movies, you might know the type of movies he has done the most, comic roles. Movies like Central Intelligence, Rundown, Jumanji Series, etc have shown us fans how Johnson brings justice to comic characters.

Johnson has done two Disney movies before Moana and Jungle Cruise. He has his voice to the character Maui, and the film was a massive success. Hence, along with other comic movies, he has an experience with Disney movies too that one animated and another CGI. 

Similar to Maui, Johnson will make Genie also one of his great characters played on-screen. Johnson brings that gunny instance from his WWE avatar, The Rock. While signed with WWE, The Rock made fun of other wrestlers in his promo and it always made the fans laugh.

Will Smith’s Aladdin or Dwayne Johnson’s Jungle Cruise: Which Disney Film Was the Bigger Box Office Hit?

3. Disney wants someone who’s spotless, and Dwayne Johnson fits the bill

Not to shed a light on this reason much, but Disney is known to sign actors who don’t have any controversial background. Even if there is a situation of controversy, it should not affect the franchise.

Will Smith’s Oscar incident of slapping Chris Rock has put him into a lot of trouble. So Disney might consider Dwayne Johnson as he has no controversial background whatsoever, that could affect the company in the future.

4. One of the biggest stars in Hollywood has mass appeal with Blockbuster hits

The Rock is one of the highest-paid actors in the world right now. Since appearing as Lucas Hobbs in Fast Saga’s 5th movie, Johnson has grown in a flash. Also, the five Fast and Furious movies he has appeared to have earned over $4 billion worldwide.

Dwayne Johnson’s other movies’ box-office collection speaks for itself, how much revenue just his presence as Genie in Aladdin will make. The first part of Aladdin made $1.2 billion worldwide and if Johnson signs the sequel, it can go way up than what it earned last time.

5. Dwayne Johnson can don the Producer’s hat with Disney

Disney is a huge production company and has produced movies that have earned billions worldwide. Apart from that, Disney also owns Marvel Cinematic Universe movies along with 21st Century Fox.

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Dwayne Johnson also has his own movie production company named Seven Bucks Production. It has produced high grossing movies like Central Intelligence, Jumanji movies, Shazam, Red Notice, and the major ongoing project is DCEU’s, Black Adam.

Johnson can be an essential part of producing the movie too. Aladdin is a high-budget film and if Disney and Johnson come up with a producing deal, then Disney has a major benefit in it too.

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So above are the five major reasons Disney will try to sign Dwayne Johnson if they ever decide to recast Will Smith’s role as Genie in Aladdin 2.

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Written by:

Tushar Deogharkar

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Tushar Deogharkar is a WWE writer at EssentiallySports. Tushar has done his Master's in Tourism Management and is an ardent fan of pro wrestling. He follows WWE and AEW very closely and wants to learn how the promotions are run.
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Edited by:

Vibhanshu Kumar