Aladdin 2 to Be Original Story, Won't Be Based on Return of Jafar

It was just announced that the sequel to Disney's live-action Aladdin is officially in the works, and fans of the original animated movie's follow-ups may want to sit down for this one. The first reports on the new movie indicate that the direct-to-video sequels to the 1992 movie, 1994's The Return of Jafar and 1996's Aladdin and the King of Thieves, are off the table and will not be the basis for the live-action sequel. John Gatins (Power Rangers, Real Steel) and Andrea Berloff (Straight Outta Compton) will pen the script which is based on an original idea.

In their story on the development of the sequel, Variety reported the news that the original sequels to the animated Aladdin will not be the basis for the live-action follow-up. For a little bit more context on the sequel, THR reports that Disney assembled a writers room over the summer to brainstorm story ideas for an Aladdin sequel. The trade goes on to note that at one point the studio was "looking at other tales from One Thousand and One Nights" to use as the basis for the movie. Other stories included in the fables include the Seven Voyages of Sinbad and Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (which partially inspired the second animated sequel).

At this stage in the development of the Aladdin sequel it is unclear if director Guy Richie will return to helm the sequel. Stars Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott, and Will Smith are all expected to return though, but offers reportedly won't be in place until the script is complete, which could be months away. Producer Dan Lin will return behind-the-scenes for the follow-up, having previously disclosed to ComicBook.com that the idea of a sequel had been explored by the studio.

"When we first made the movie wanted to just make the best movie we could and let audiences tell us if they wanted to see more," Lin said. "And I would say resoundingly audiences want to see more. They've watched this movie multiple times. We have lots of fan letters about people who really go back and they bring their friends and bring their family. And so we feel like there's more story to tell. We are going to treat it the same way we treat the original Aladdin movie and not going to do a shot by shot remake of anything that's been done before. We're really looking at what's been done before in the past and the home video, and there's just more story to tell with the underlying materials. So without giving away too much, we are certainly exploring where we can go with this franchise."

Having previously brought in over a billion dollars at the worldwide box office, Aladdin is now available to stream on Disney+. If you haven't signed up for Disney+ yet, you can try it out here.

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