While the first teaser for Disney’s live-action Aladdin remake didn’t show much of anything about the movie, we did get a sneaky look at one of the original animation’s fan-favorite characters.
As the teaser opens on the desert, a bird can be seen flying in the distance, past the skyline of the distant city of Agrabah. When the camera then turns its attention to the new-look Cave of Wonders, the bird flies straight down in front of everyone, on its way to the men that stand outside the cave, exposing the classic red and blue wings that fans are sure to remember.
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Of course, this is Iago, Jafar’s talking parrot. In the original movie, the loud-mouthed character was made famous by Gilbert Gottfried.
There’s no indication as to whether or not Iago will have a speaking role in the live-action Aladdin, as it looks like the film is going for a slightly more grounded take on the material. However, fans will certainly be happy just to know Iago is involved in some capacity.
When Disney released the final cast list for Aladdin, there was concern that Iago wouldn’t be included because a voice actor was missing from the cast list. Here’s the full cast list, according to the press release from Disney:
The “Aladdin” cast includes: Two-time Oscar nominee Will Smith (“Ali,” “Men in Black”) as the Genie who has the power to grant three wishes to whoever possesses his magic lamp; Mena Massoud (Amazon’s “Jack Ryan”) as Aladdin, the hapless but lovable street rat who is smitten with the Sultan’s daughter; Naomi Scott (“Power Rangers”) as Princess Jasmine, the Sultan’s beautiful daughter who wants to have a say in how she lives her life; Marwan Kenzari (“Murder on the Orient Express”) as Jafar, an evil sorcerer who devises a nefarious plot to unseat the Sultan and rule Agrabah himself; Navid Negahban (“Homeland”) as the Sultan, the ruler of Agrabah who is eager to find a proper husband for his daughter, Jasmine; Nasim Pedrad (“Saturday Night Live”) as Dalia, Princess Jasmine’s hand maiden and confidante; Billy Magnussen (“Into the Woods”) as Prince Anders, a suitor from Skanland and potential husband for Princess Jasmine; and Numan Acar (“Homeland”) as Hakim, Jafar’s right-hand man and head of the palace guards.
Iago is definitely missing, but the teaser confirmed that he would at least appear in the movie. It could be that the character doesn’t actually talk in this version, but it could also mean that a voice actor still has yet to come in and record Iago’s lines.
We’ll certainly find out what’s going on with Iago when Aladdin arrives in theaters on May 24, 2019.
Are you hoping to see more Iago in the full trailer? What did you think of this Aladdin teaser? Let us know in the comments!
