Aladdin stars Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott feel that things are changing for the better when it comes to diversity on screen.
The live-action Disney remake has a predominantly non-white cast, still rare for a blockbuster movie. But the two leading stars are hopeful that Aladdin is a sign of things to come.
"People are just becoming more open-minded to what people want to see. We're busting these myths of 'this won't sell' and 'this won't sell', it's like, 'No it will… Beauty and the Beast made this much, Wonder Woman, Black Panther'," Scott told Digital Spy.
"All of these examples that are breaking those ceilings which I think is really important because I think people want to see themselves, and there's a whole big world out there so there's lots of different people to represent."
Massoud added that the remake "represents our effort" to improve diversity on screen and in the industry.
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"Disney is one of the biggest Hollywood studios, so I hope Disney continues to do this and other Hollywood studios look at this and learn that you can cast people of colour and ethnic diverse groups, and still have a very successful film, so we'll see," he said.
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Massoud has also been speaking about a new duet that got cut from the remake, while Scott revealed she felt less pressure taking on 'A Whole New World' than you might think.
Aladdin is released in UK cinemas on May 22 and US cinemas on May 24.
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Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
