Is nothing sacred anymore? As more and more horror films re-imagine classic childhood tales, the answer appears to be a resounding “no.” Thus far, we’ve seen twisted takes on Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, Bambi, and even Mickey Mouse himself, thanks to audacious independent filmmakers and public domain laws. Next up? Aladdin. Bloody Disgusting reported that B22 Films will commence filming in Oklahoma this month on Aladdin and Aladdin’s Revenge, a two-part horror saga that will explore the dark side of the wish-fulfillment fairy tale. The upcoming films are written and directed by Brent Bentman, and are slated for a 2026 release.
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If you’re scratching your head as to why Disney isn’t unleashing its lawyers on B22 Films’s set in Oklahoma, the answer is public domain. Though Disney made the character of Aladdin famous in their 1992 animated classic Aladdin and its 2019 live-action adaptation, he is technically part of the public domain. Aladdin first appeared in the Arab folktale One Thousand and One Nights from the Islamic Golden Age which dates back to as early as the 8th century and makes him fair game for anyone to use in their films.
Though Disney’s take on Aladdin had a dose of darkness with villain Jafar and how he instantly exploited the wish-granting genie when he got possession of Aladdin’s magic lamp, it’s clear that Bentman’s films intend to take the folktale’s original premise to a much more violent and frightening place, and may go as far as painting Aladdin as a cruel, unrelenting villain instead of the hero he typically has been.
B22 Films released a teaser poster for the upcoming films, and shared that the storyline will center around “a struggling young woman (Devanny Pinn) who stumbles upon a magical lamp that offers the ability to grant three wishes – wishes that go horribly wrong…” Scream queen Pinn, whose most recent horror credits include Alien Storm, Terra Bella, and Vengeance Girl, will be joined on screen by Billy Blair, who also comes with an impressive horror resume, having appeared in Rob Zombie’s Three from Hell.
To Bentman, the concept of unmitigated desire is what drew him to re-conceive Aladdin’s tale as a horror, and will serve as the central theme explored in the upcoming films.
“It’s the story about wanting things so badly, unaware of the consequences, that these characters just wish for them and from there, things go haywire,” Bentman shared.
While there’s certainly plenty to explore within the idea of wish fulfillment gone wrong, audiences may already be tired of watching indie horror directors ruin their favorite childhood characters. The past films that subverted expectations haven’t fared well. Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey has an abysmal 3% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes, and Peter Pan‘s Neverland Nightmare only managed a 43% rating from critics. At the end of the day, the upcoming Aladdin horror films beg the question: just because filmmakers technically have the right to make a slasher about a character, should they?
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