Disney's live-action Aladdin searching for Middle Eastern youngsters to star

Aladdin fans and decent human beings can rest easy after an open casting call for Disney’s live-action remake made it clear the film is looking for Middle Eastern leads.

Set to be directed by ‘Snatch’ and ‘Sherlock Holmes’s Guy Ritchie, the remake is on the look-out for two actors aged 18-25 to play lead pair Aladdin and Jasmine.

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Shared on Twitter, the casting call states that the leads must be able to sing and if they have dance experience that would certainly be a plus.

The casting decision will be made in time for rehearsals to begin in April, ahead of the film’s full production, which will run from July until January 2018.

Anyone interested has been told to email a photo and video of themselves singing to ctcastingoffice@gmail.com.

The casting call will lay to rest fears of whitewashing in the film, following a spate of issues with films like ‘Doctor Strange’ and ‘The Great Wall’.

While Disney’s search continues, they’ll also be searching for (we’re assuming more experienced) actors to play villain Jafar, Jasmine’s father the Sultan and the Genie. Whoever plays Genie will have a lot of pressure on them to fill the shoes left by the late Robin Williams, who portrayed the character in the 1992 animated classic.

The live-action ‘Aladdin’ hasn’t yet been set a release window, but the timing of its production suggests a late 2018/early 2019 release.