Navid Negahban Cast As The Sultan In Live-Action Aladdin

The live-action Aladdin almost has a full cast, and Disney has now found its Sultan.

Actor Navid Negahban will play the part of Jasmine’s father and ruler of Agrabah (via Deadline) and will fill out a talented cast. Thus far the production has Mena Massoud as Aladdin, Naomi Scott as Princess Jasmine, Marwan Kenzari as Jafar, Nasim Pedrad as Dalia, and Will Smith as the Genie.

Billy Magnussen (Prince Anders) and Numan Acar (Hakim) round out the cast.

As for Negahban, the actor has starred in films like American Sniper and Charlie Wilson’s War, alongside television shows like Scorpion, The Messengers, Veep, and most notably Homeland as Abu Nazir.

The live-action Aladdin is being helmed by Guy Ritchie (King Arthur) and will have a score by Beauty and the Beast’s Alan Menken.

Aladdin is the latest in a long line of live-action remakes for Disney, though it is a trend that shows no sign of stopping. Their previous effort Beauty and the Beast managed to bring in a plethora of box office receipts, resulting in a domestic haul of over $504 million. Worldwide it managed to pull in over $1.2 billion in ticket sales, and hopes are high that Aladdin, a long beloved franchise for Disney, will do something similar.

Early talk around Aladdin had to do with having a diverse cast, something the studio seems to have delivered on.

“Look at me. I mean I’m not a typical guy,” Producer Dan Lin told Collider. “Listen I’m very fortunate working in Hollywood; I am diverse. So when I came in to make the movie, I wanted to make a diverse version of the movie. Luckily for me, Guy Ritchie has the same vision and Disney has the same vision, so we’re not here to make Prince of Persia. We want to make a movie that’s authentic to that world.”

Aladdin has no release date as of yet, but it is expected to start shooting this year.