- Actor Billy Magnussen is set to reprise his role as Prince Anders in a spinoff of the live-action 'Aladdin' for Disney Plus.
- Meanwhile, actor Mena Massoud, who played the titular character in the billion-dollar grossing live-action remake, said in an interview with The Daily Beast that he hasn't had "a single audition" since "Aladdin" came out.
- Massoud is currently starring in Hulu's "Reprisal" playing gang member Ethan Hart. A sequel to the live-action remake is reportedly in planning stages, but more details on the movie are yet to be released, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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Actor Billy Magnussen is set to star in a spinoff of the live-action 'Aladdin' for Disney Plus. The news broke the same week that lead actor Mena Massoud revealed that he hasn't had an audition since the film was released.
Magnussen will reprise his role as Prince Anders in the feature, which is in early development for Disney Plus, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The spinoff will focus on the simple-minded Skanland prince, who was a potential suitor for Princess Jasmine.
The actor reportedly pitched the idea of a spinoff to producers Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich, who were also behind the live-action film. While some Disney live-action films have continued on in sequels, Magnussen's spinoff will be a first for the live-action phase of the entertainment company.
Meanwhile, Massoud, who played the titular character in the billion-dollar grossing live-action remake, said in an interview with The Daily Beast that he hasn't had "a single audition" since "Aladdin" came out.
"I want people to know that it's not always dandelions and roses when you're doing something like 'Aladdin,'" Massoud told The Daily Beast. "'He must have made millions. He must be getting all these offers.' It's none of those things."
Massoud is currently starring in Hulu's "Reprisal" playing gang member Ethan Hart. A sequel to the live-action remake is reportedly in planning stages, but more details on the movie are yet to be released, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
"I think since Aladdin, my expectations for things releasing and what they're going to do in my career, I've had to really pull them back," he said in the interview. "Because, you know, I got the same question about Aladdin and it was like, 'Oh, you know, Aladdin's coming out. How do you feel about what that's going to do to your career?' The big truth is I haven't really seen a big anything from it."
Massoud, who was born in Egypt and grew up in Toronto, opened up in The Daily Beast profile on his goal to find roles that don't "bring negative connotations because of the color of their skin or ethnicity." He told The Daily Beast that one of his first roles was being cast as "al Qaeda #2" in CW drama series "Nikita."
So far, his mission has been successful, as he went on to appear as a CIA analyst Amazon's "Jack Ryan" and a mayoral aide in the film "Run This Town." Nonetheless, Massoud said he still feels like the "wild card choice" when he appears in casting rooms filled with Caucasian actors.
"There's always a wild card or two when you're casting," he says. "I'm usually the wild card. In a room of Caucasian guys, a director might be like, 'OK, let's see, like, two guys who aren't, and maybe they'll be the wild card choice.'"
- Read more:
- 'Aladdin' star Mena Massoud says he hasn't had a 'single audition' since the Disney film came out: 'Can you just give me a chance?'
- Disney cast an entirely new character in its live-action 'Aladdin' and some people are furious
- 'Aladdin' producer explains why they made changes from the animated movie: 'We didn't think it held up in today's day and age of female empowerment'
- 37 of the biggest differences between the live-action 'Aladdin' and the animated movie
- Here's the cast of Disney's live-action 'Aladdin' and who they're playing
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