Disney’s Live-Action ‘Aladdin’ Songwriters Reveal Changes to Original Soundtrack

Walt Disney Studios and director Guy Ritchie are currently working on a live-action adaptation of the beloved 1992 movie, Aladdin, and as you’d probably expect, there will be some significant changes between the two versions of the film.

In addition to differences in characters, like Will Smith portraying Genie in place of Robin Williams, it looks as though the film’s soundtrack will be getting a significant overhaul as well.

While speaking to Variety, Aladdin songwriters Benji Pasek and Justin Paul revealed the first details about the new soundtrack. The duo confirmed that there are multiple new songs coming to the movie, and that some of the original songs are getting a makeover.

They first confirmed that Jasmine has been given a new solo song, which actress Naomi Scott apparently executes beautifully.

“We got to write a new song for Jasmine,” Paul said. “[Composer] Alan [Menken] wrote a beautiful piece of music and [Scott] is incredible.”

The writers also revealed that they arranged a new duet for Aladdin and Jasmine to perform together. “It’s a sweet song,” Paul said of the piece.

Finally, Paul and Pasek confirmed to Variety that one of the most beloved songs from the animated Aladdin movie received an update for the live-action version. The duo has written an additional verse to “Arabian Nights.” Neither writer confirmed whether the new verse would come at the beginning of the song, or at the end, but it will definitely extend the popular tune.

Unfortunately, these little tidbits are the only details regarding the film’s soundtrack that have been revealed at this time. There are likely more changes coming to the original tracklisting, and there’s always the chance that some of the songs from the animated movie might not even make it into the live-action cut. All we know at this point is that we’ll learn everything when the movie arrives in 2019.

What do you think of the changes being made to the Aladdin soundtrack? Are there any songs you don’t want to see cut from the tracklist? Let us know in the comments!

Disney’s live-action Aladdin is set to hit theaters on May 24, 2019. The film is directed by Guy Ritchie, from a script he co-wrote with Vanessa Taylor and John August, and it stars Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott, and Will Smith.