Aladdin Star Naomi Scott Defends Will Smith’s Genie

Aladdin star Will Smith brings "the magic of Will Smith to the character" of Genie, says co-star Naomi Scott, who argues Smith's take on the iconic animated character originally voiced by the late Robin Williams is a new interpretation belonging to the Fresh Prince star.

"I could feel many sorts of things as the film is about to be out. At the end of the day, I'm excited for people to see it. This is a movie that something we believe in. Even as an actor, we put everything on the table. Everything has come together," Scott gushed to LRM Online.

"Just watch the movie and you'll feel everything is amazing. It's so magical. I'm just excited. Will Smith is very good in this movie. When you think of [the Genie], you'll think that what Robin Williams did is so incredible that he brought his personality. That's exactly what Will did. He's bringing the magic of Will Smith to the character. No one else can play this Genie except for him."

The character was first described as "part Fresh Prince, part Hitch," two of Smith's more swagger-filled roles. The Suicide Squad star previously told EW he felt confident he could deliver a take on Genie faithful to the character but unique to Smith's "hip-hop flavored" version.

"Whenever you're doing things that are iconic, it's always terrifying. The question is always: Where was there meat left on the bone? Robin didn't leave a lot of meat on the bone with the character," Smith said.

"[He] infused the character with a timeless version of himself. I started to feel confident that I could deliver something that was an homage to Robin Williams but was musically different. Just the flavor of the character would be different enough and unique enough that it would be in a different lane, versus trying to compete."

Smith hoped his style would "stand out as unique even in the Disney world," he said. "There hasn't been a lot of that hip-hop flavor in Disney history."

Starring Will Smith, Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott, Marwan Kenzari, Navid Negahban, Nasim Pedrad, Numan Acar, Billy Magnussen, and Alan Tudyk, Aladdin is now playing.