Will Smith responds to criticism of his casting in 'Aladdin'

Ever since the trailer of Disney's 'Aladdin' released, netizens are persistently taking jibes at the casting of Will Smith as Genie in the new live-action adaptation of the 1992 animated hit of the same name. Smith seemed eager to talk about the matter at the film's Hollywood premiere on May 21.

Los Angeles: Will Smith's Genie in Disney's new live-action adaptation of the 1992 animated hit 'Aladdin' has been keeping the social-media machine in overdrive for some six months now.

When the film's first trailer was released around Christmas, it inspired numerous posts complaining Smith lacked the blue skin of the animated original (voiced by the late Robin Williams).

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There were enough posts for Smith himself to get online and promise that the blue was en route.

Then, on Grammy Sunday, a new 'Aladdin' trailer aired, and Smith was blue as promised. But the reaction couldn't have been what Disney wanted, as it inspired a string of hilarious tweets, such as one that said Smith's look caused "sleep paralysis" and another commenting his look made "my brain feel haunted."

Another aspect of the Smith-casting discussion wasn't so funny:

Of the film's seven top-billed actors, only Smith is not of Middle Eastern or Indian descent, raising the question as to why Disney didn't dig a little deeper for the star of its film set in a city near the Jordan River.

READ | Smith and Ritchie bring 'Aladdin' to London, celebrate the film's diversity

Smith seemed eager to talk about the matter at the film's Hollywood premiere on May 21.

"You know," he replied, "my family's been very outspoken for the past few years around the idea of diversity and even more critical in Hollywood because of how far the images go out into the world."

"I mean I feel very comfortable," Smith continued. "I loved being in the Middle East, actually shooting in the Middle East. I think there are a lot of misconceptions, that just our presence there can address and sort of diffuse a lot of the misconceptions, without even having to to talk about it. So, you know, this movie's all wins for me."

Iranian-American character actor Navid Megahban ('Legion', 'Homeland'), who portrays Sultan in the new 'Aladdin', said he gets that some have issues with Smith, but, ultimately, it's talent, not ethnicity, that should be the top consideration -- and that Smith was simply the best choice.

'Aladdin' lands in India on May 24, 2019.

With inputs from APTN