Dwayne Johnson’s Co-Star Wanted to See Him as Genie in Aladdin Even When Will Smith Had the Role in His Pocket

Dwayne Johnson is one of the most influential people in the world. His charisma and charm were the reason for his popularity among the WWE Universe, and they translated perfectly into Hollywood. There are many actors who are great friends with ‘The People’s Champ’ and they talk about great experiences with him as a human being.

The Rock is someone who many people look up to, especially young children. With his many philanthropic activities, The Rock has had the chance to meet these young fellows. Adding everything up, seeing The Rock in a Disney movie is the most logical thing. While we have seen him as Maui in Moana, he would be perfect for the ongoing trend of Disney making live-action movies.

Jack Black suggested Dwayne Johnson as a candidate for Genie in Aladdin

It comes as no surprise that one of his co-stars from the movie, (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle) Jack Black, claimed that The Rock would be perfect for the role of the Genie in a live adaptation of Aladdin. In an interview with CinemaBlend, he said, “You’d be a rad genie from Aladdin.”

This interview took place in 2017, i.e. the year we got the information that Will Smith will be playing the genie.

In another CinemaBlend interview, Aladin producer Dan Lin shed light on why he chose Will Smith as the Genie. He said: “And so Will Smith if you look closely at the Genie, is influenced by what he did so well in Hitch and what he did so well with Fresh Prince. This is a hip-hop genie and so it’s very specific to Will.“

READ MORE: Will Smith May Lose Iconic Role to Dwayne Johnson

“No other actor could have done this the way he did. In the same way, no other actor could have done the genie the way Robin Williams did. They are so iconic and so the way Will interpreted the Genie was to make an iconic character that only he can play that is very true to himself.”

That’s what really excited audiences and allowed them to differentiate the live-action Aladdin movie from the animated one.

Tell us who you think makes a better Genie (Dwayne Johnson, or Will Smith) in the comments below.

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