Disney’s Full Aladdin Trailer Has A Ton Of Songs And Magic

Disney’s Full Aladdin Trailer Has A Ton Of Songs And Magic

Disney has been on a roll with its live-action adaptations, as each new release has a mixture of nostalgia and modern hype attached. Starting with Maleficent, many of the House of Mouse's most beloved animated features have been brought back to the silver screen, with dazzling visual affects to bring extra bit of Disney magic. The next of these releases is Aladdin, with the project slowly building anticipation since it was announced.

While there's been some brief clips released, Disney Studios has finally revealed the full trailer for Aladdin, and it didn't skimp on the magic or musical numbers. Check it out below, and transport yourself back to Agrabah.

Well, this is exciting. It looks like Aladdin will be a pretty spot-on recreation of the 1992 classic animated film. And with Disney capable of wild effects in bringing the project to live-action, smart money says that generations of fans will be clamoring to theaters when the blockbuster arrives in May.

The Aladdin trailer starts right with the love story that is motivating its title character. While trying to escape the city's police, the street rat (Mena Massoud) has a meet-cute with the princess Jasmine (Naomi Scott). He's determined to become suitable enough to woo Jasmine, and is manipulated by Jafar (Marwan Kenzari) into finding the magical lamp. It's the story old as time, but this time it'll feel all the more real.

There's plenty of Will Smith in this first trailer, featuring his version of Robin Williams' Genie, including his signature song "Never Had A Friend Like Me." The character has gotten quite a bit of pushback ahead of its release, with fans worried when the first look showed Smith looking noticeably non-blue. Both the actor and Disney maintained the character would indeed have his blue appearance, although the first look of Smith's complete look went viral for all the wrong reasons.

But now it looks like the character will spend significant time without his blue pigment, presumably to disguise himself and help Aladdin as he attempts to become Prince Ali. This is no doubt going to turn some heads, so stay tuned as the twittersphere blows up.

Perhaps the most exciting moment of this new trailer is the clips from "A Whole New World", the movie's love ballad. We see as Jasmine and Aladdin take that iconic magic carpet ride, and belt it out as they soar through the clouds. The new trailer provided glimpses at the two most beloved musical numbers from the original, so it's clear that Disney is going to tug on our nostalgic hearts throughout the upcoming movie.

Aladdin will fly into theaters on May 24th. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

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Shazam! Reviews: What CinemaBlend Thought Of DC's Newest Big Screen Hero

Shazam! Reviews: What CinemaBlend Thought Of DC's Newest Big Screen Hero

DC Comics is home to some of the biggest names in the entire superhero genre. Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman all call DC home. One character that predates most of DC's heroes is Shazam. However, while the character has a long history, he's not necessarily that well known by the average moviegoer. That may be about to change as the new Shazam! movie is finally here, and according to pretty much everybody here at CinemaBlend, it is absolutely worth seeing.

The CinemaBlend review for Shazam! was written by Managing Director Sean O'Connell who gave the film four out of five stars. Sean thought the film did a great job handling the necessary information requited in every superhero origin story, and was quite well cast, especially with Zachary Levi as Shazam. He's already looking forward to sequels.

More Shazam! movies will be welcome, so long as Zachary Levi remains in the suit. He’s the right lead for this blend of action and comedy, and while it doesn’t mean that every DC movie moving forward needs to embrace the lighter tones and smaller scale on display in Shazam!, I’m grateful that Sandberg brought that touch to this delightful material.

Zachary Levi plays Shazam, but he's only half of the main character. Asher Angel plays Billy Batson, the 14-year-old boy who gains the ability to transform into a superhero. The catch, is that grown-up Shazam still has the mind of Billy, so a 14-year-old boy is still the one navigating the world with these new found powers.

It's this premise which gives the movie license to be a bit lighter than your average superhero movie. This is what Marketing Editor Adrienne Jones particularly loved about Shazam! It sets itself apart from pretty much every other superhero movie out there.

Shazam! is exactly what DC (and superhero movies in general) needs right now because it's just pure fun. Zachary Levi throws his whole being into embodying a teen who becomes a superpowered adult, and he's surrounded by other wonderful performers who help make the movie a joy to watch while still being able to touch on some serious themes and, of course, throwing a few surprises our way. Can't wait for the sequel!

That feeling of fun, and love for Zachary Levi's performance, is echoed by Events Editor Eric Eisenberg. While the movie may be a fairly predictable origin story movie, it's one that has so much more going for it that you won't care.

DC is finally building a solid run: Shazam! is a delight! Its familiar origin structure is forgivable because of all the new it brings to the table - primarily it's gleeful, childlike enthusiasm, & heartfelt perspective on family. It's also the role Zachary Levi was born to play.

Staff Writer Mike Reyes largely feels the same way. He calls the movie familiar, but credits director David F. Sandberg with finding ways to make Shazam! feel different by including elements we don't always see in this genre.

Shazam! is a fun addition to the DC Comics canon of films, with a good heart and some well earned menace thrown into the usual superhero origin story. Which is probably why director David F. Sandberg's film most comes alive at the moments where it pivots to either the family drama of Billy Batson and his foster family or the creepy quest for power undertaken by the film's villain, Dr. Silvana. Put those two strong pillars together, and mix in an endearing performance by the ever solid Zachary Levi, and you've got yourself a fun, but very familiar, day at the movies!

Shazam! does a remarkably good job dealing with some of the problems that modern superhero movies tend to have. It gives a decent amount of screen time to the movies villain, Mark Strong as Doctor Silvana. By doing so, it helps develop the character better than the bad guys in most comic book films from DC or Marvel. He's also a fairly chilling character, making him feel more threatening and evil than most.

The movie also doesn't short change the human story. While Shazam the superhero has his battles to fight, Billy Batson the teenage orphan does too. He's dealing with trying to find his family, while also navigating the new foster family he's become part of. There's a lot going on in this movie, and somehow, it's able to juggle everything expertly.

CinemaBlend Editor Adam Holmes is another who loved the movie. However, he also really loved the particular way that this classic comic book hero was finally brought to the big screen.

Shazam! is a delightful DCEU entry that delivers on its promise of blending Big with superhero mythology. It effectively translates Shazam’s New 52 origin story to the big screen while also including elements from the character’s classic eras. The main cast also shines bright, particularly Zachary Levi and Jack Dylan Grazer. It’s about time that Shazam finally got to lead his own full-length theatrical film, and I’m looking forward to seeing more cinematic stories centered around the World’s Mightiest Mortal and his family.

CinemaBlend writer Sarah El-Mahmoud puts it as plainly as it can be done. She loved it. Even up against critical and crowd favorites like Wonder Woman, she thinks Shazam! is as good as DC has done to date.

I was not prepared for how good Shazam is!! Hands down my favorite thing DCEU has done so far.

As for myself, I absolutely adored this movie. It sort of runs the gamut of emotions. You'll laugh, you'll cheer, you might cry or even scream. As a particular fan of Zachery Levi since his days on Chuck, it's great to see him in a high profile role like this, and it's even better to see him knock it out of the park.

Shazam! is everything. It's got great action, great humor, some surprising scares, and real heart. Zachary Levi is the definition of perfect casting. Bring on the sequels.

Sometimes, all you want is a fun movie here a superhero fights a supervillain. Shazam! is absolutely that. It's also a lot more, but it's able to be more without losing the core parts of what makes a modern superhero movie that so many people love. Also, it's probably a lot funnier than Avengers: Endgame is going to be in a couple weeks.

What the future holds for Shazam in the DC Universe is anybody's guess. The movie's success at the box office this weekend, and in the long term, will certainly go a long way to determining that. But, if we do get sequels, you can bet that the CinemaBlend team will be looking forward to them. Considering that the movie is already doing better than expected at the box office, we're probably not the only ones.

Shazam! is in theaters now.

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How Marvel Movies Are Affected By The Russo Brothers' Bold Plot Moves

How Marvel Movies Are Affected By The Russo Brothers' Bold Plot Moves

Joe and Anthony Russo have made three films for Marvel Studios prior to Avengers: Endgame, and each time out they have done something to totally upend the Marvel Cinematic Universe as we know it. Working alongside screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, they’ve exposed S.H.I.E.L.D. as a corrupt institution, broke up the Avengers, and killed half of all living things. It’s a pretty shocking legacy to have, but according to the directors, it’s all part of the role they see themselves have as storytellers.

Each time out the Russos have taken some big swings with beloved characters and aspects of the popular franchise, and it all links back to an approach that tries to shake things up and leave the world in a different place than where it was when they started. This was a subject that came up during my recent interview with the filmmakers prior to the release of Avengers: Endgame, and as I learned from Anthony Russo, it’s all about forward progress:

We look at it as our challenge. How do we construct a narrative that actually pushes these characters into those places? How does Captain America travel that road? How do we create circumstances where you're going to believably see him behaving in new ways as the movies go on? Because that's the key to the longevity. We want to see these movies go on forever. We love them. But the only way to really do that is to keep finding new colors to bring to the surface.

Simply put, the Marvel Cinematic Universe doesn’t get to make 22 successful movies unless each one is bringing something new to the table, and one of the best ways to get that done is by having a story introduce a bombshell that totally changes the face of things as we know it.

This is something at which the Russos see themselves as being particularly skilled, and it’s been a part of their work for years – even before they started making Marvel blockbusters. As Joe Russo noted, it’s also something that’s very much present in their television work – specifically the two much-loved and metatextual comedy series that they helped bring to life:

We lined up very well with where we came into the Marvel Universe because we're disruptors, and we like to make disruptive choices and deconstruct. Go look at Arrested Development or Community. They're both deconstruction of shows. And everything we've done with the Marvel universe is deconstruct because we're interested in what happens post-deconstruction. Those are the things that are most compelling to us. And so getting to make each movie after we deconstruct something, we tend to use that next movie to examine the deconstruction.

This approach has led them to tell stories within the continuity that leave the Marvel Universe in precarious positions, but it’s really all part of the plan. According to the directors, writing themselves into a corner is actually something that they do on purpose, as it ultimately allows them to really flex their creative muscles as they try and find the best way for their characters to get out of impossible situations and scenarios.

This has also never been a challenge that they’ve shirked from, as each one of their Marvel movies have had a significant effect on the next. The fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. in Captain America: The Winter Soldier led to its titular character being unable to trust authority, and that eventually fed the central conflict featured in Captain America: Civil War. This led to the members of the Avengers no longer trusting each other, and because they were divided they got their asses kicked by Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War. Now in Avengers: Endgame the heroes have to pick up the pieces and do what they can to right the horrific wrong that has led to trillions of deaths around the universe.

As Joe and Anthony Russo explained, these endings not only carry significant emotional weight, but force the heroes to change in ways that they otherwise wouldn’t:

Anthony Russo: The ending of that movie, it's a difficult ending, the ending of Infinity War, and it's really important for us to double down on that and commit to that, and figure out how does someone move forward from a moment like that? How do these heroes move forward from a moment like that? That's the story that we want to know.

Joe Russo: They lost.

Anthony Russo: Exactly. And that's a real experience. So we wanted to give that its due.

Joe Russo: It was a unique opportunity for us in Infinity War, which is an exceedingly expensive movie, and we had a studio very supportive of us killing half the characters at the end of the movie. That as filmmakers is a really rare opportunity, and we wanted to take advantage of that opportunity.

Of course, the choices that are being made aren’t entirely insular, as the Marvel Cinematic Universe at large is made up of multiple filmmakers telling a wide variety of stories with these shared characters. You’d think that this would make the kind of big swings the Russos are interested in executing a challenge to sell, but as Anthony Russo explains, what plays a significant role is the fact that they have the full support of Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige. And when you have someone in that kind of position backing your creative moves, you can be bold:

I think that's part of the magic of what Kevin Feige can do, is that he understands the importance of giving every movie the freedom to do those things. Because if you don't you're shackling what the narrative can do, or where it can go. And I think why we've done four movies with Marvel is because we've had that freedom; we've had the freedom to go to surprising, shocking, even problematic for the studio places with the storytelling, and Kevin gets fed off of that. He knows that that's part of the vitality of surprising audiences, and for as complicated as it may be on a business level, on a creative level, that's all that matters.

You can hear Joe and Anthony Russo discuss their big moves in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as well as other subjects, by watching my full interview with the directors below:

All of the work the Russos have done in the last five years has led to Avengers: Endgame, and now audiences worldwide can experience the capstone for themselves – as the film is now playing in theaters worldwide. Be sure to not only check it out this weekend, but also stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for a whole lot more of our Marvel Cinematic Universe coverage.

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Will Smith Has Seen Aladdin’s Final Cut, And He’s Hyped

Will Smith Has Seen Aladdin’s Final Cut, And He’s Hyped

Disney fans rejoice! The studio’s live-action season soon awaits as Dumbo, Aladdin and The Lion King get ready to hit theaters in the coming spring and summer months. It’s a lot of nostalgia to process at once, and each movie has some beautifully animated shoes to fill ­– metaphorically anyway: elephants, genies or lions don’t need footwear.

Of all the highly-anticipated performances, Will Smith’s Genie might be the one we are most anxiously bracing ourselves for, following Robin Williams’ iconic, hilarious and touching animated performance as the entity of the lamp. The actor recently took to his Instagram to announce he’s seen the upcoming movie and he’s blazing with joy. Check out his reaction below:

Are we ready to get on the hype train with Will Smith? The Aladdin star is calling it straight “FIRE” (emojis and all) and he doesn’t seem to mean that in a “hot garbage fire” kind of way.

A past Aladdin teaser revealing the first look of Will Smith’s blue genie caused some concern in fans of the movie’s CGI. The first image of the character went completely viral and was criticized for being "terrifying." However, the recent first full trailer eased some of this apprehension, as the wish-granting character’s CGI looks more complete.

The new trailer also offered a closer glance at the movie’s music numbers and recreations of famous scenes, such as Aladdin’s first meeting with the Genie, his makeover into a prince and one romantic magic carpet ride. The latest preview certainly looks promising and has many fans getting the memorable songs back in their heads and ready to see Disney’s new take on the popular animated film from the studio’s renaissance.

We should note the reaction from Will Smith is, of course, a bit of self-advertising on his part, and the actor certainly wants people to get excited and go out to see the movie. If Smith went on social media and said he hated the movie, that would certainly hurt the film’s chances at gaining positive buzz. However, it does help to hear the star sound excited for the release and the fact that he’s seen it means it’s that much closer to hitting big screens.

Following the in the footsteps of 1992 film, Aladdin follows a street urchin (Mena Massoud), who comes across a magic lamp, thanks to shady deal with Jafar (Marwan Kenzari) and finds a genie inside who helps disguise himself as a prince in order to woo the beautiful Princess Jasmine (Naomi Scott) as a vile power play unfolds between Jafar and the Sultan of Agrabah (Navid Negahban).

The film also stars Alan Tudyk as Iago the parrot and SNL’s Nasim Pedrad as a new character named Dalia, and it will include two new songs. Aladdin flies into theaters on May 24.

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Avengers: Infinity War Almost Had Captain America And Sharon Carter Living Together

Avengers: Infinity War Almost Had Captain America And Sharon Carter Living Together

Warning: SPOILERS for Avengers: Endgame ahead!

When we reunite with Captain America in Avengers: Infinity War, we get the impression that he and fellow fugitive Black Widow have been conducting clandestine missions on their own outside of the law. Cap and Nat enter the film right in the middle of the action though, so we never really get clear answers on what they’ve been up to other than that or their living situation in the two years since Captain America: Civil War.

The assumption is that they have either been living on the run or basing themselves out of Wakanda. However, according to screenwriters Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus, Infinity War almost had Captain America and Emily VanCamp’s Sharon Carter living together. The Marvel scribes said:

Stephen McFeely: We tried to sew up all sorts of things. We had first drafts where Steve was living with Sharon Carter and it wasn’t going very well.

Christopher Markus: And those are the moments where Kevin [Feige] comes in and goes, ‘What the hell are you doing?’

In an effort to address all the lingering plot threads in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including the heroes’ various romantic entanglements, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely initially had Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers living with Sharon Carter in Avengers: Infinity War, as they told Yahoo Entertainment. This setup would have continued the relationship between the two characters that started in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

But despite the function it would have served, addressing a lingering plot thread and providing some background for what Cap was up to and where he has been in the two years since Civil War, this part of the script got the axe. Elsewhere in the interview, the screenwriters said that anything that didn’t really propel the plot forward of the fast-paced film had to go. As they’ve said in the past, there simply wasn’t time for “previously on the life of Steve Rogers.”

What exactly the reason that led Kevin Feige to hilariously wonder 'what the hell' they were doing by having Cap and Sharon live together is unclear. Although I expect, if having Cap and Sharon live together was part of a romance between the characters, I’m not sure many people would have loved the idea of having the two in a troubled relationship. Nobody wants to see Cap be a bad boyfriend.

If Sharon Carter was included though, and she and Steve were on the rocks, her potentially dying in the Snap would have affected him in a major way. Beyond just being one more person Cap lost that meant something to him, it would have had an extra sting because it would have made their domestic struggles seem insignificant.

The great niece of Peggy Carter was introduced in Captain America: The Winter Soldier as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent living undercover as Steve’s neighbor and spying on him for Nick Fury. She eventually helped Cap fight Hydra and then joined the CIA. In Captain America: Civil War, Sharon Carter helped Steve, Bucky and Sam when they were on the run, getting them their equipment back, including Cap’s shield.

After this assist, Captain America and Sharon Carter share their first kiss. Therefore it wouldn't have been out of left field to see these two in an actual relationship and living together. Of course, with the government presumably after them both at that point, it would make sense for their relationship to be a little strained.

We haven’t seen Sharon Carter since Captain America: Civil War and it would have been nice to get some closure on her relationship with Steve Rogers, but Avengers: Infinity War didn’t need it and turned out great without it. You can still include Steven and Sharon living together in your head-canon if you want, but given how he goes back to Peggy at the end of Avengers: Endgame, it’s probably best to forget their brief tryst.

Just because she and Steve never got to live a blissful domestic life together on the big screen doesn’t mean that we’ve seen the last of Emily VanCamp’s Sharon Carter in the MCU. The actress is in talks to reprise her role for the Falcon & Winter Soldier mini-series on Disney+ alongside Daniel Brühl’s Zemo.

Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to keep track of all this year’s biggest movies.

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Ben Affleck Will Direct, Write, And Star In Ghost Army

Ben Affleck Will Direct, Write, And Star In Ghost Army

Earlier this year, Ben Affleck noted that while he wasn’t sure what project would be the next he’d attach his directorial stamp to, he was keen to get something up and running by the end of the year. Looks like that search is narrowing down pretty quickly, as Affleck’s name is in the news today as potentially directing, as well as writing and starring, in Universal’s long developing film Ghost Army.

Based on a book/documentary on a crucial piece to the World War II war effort, Ghost Army would be about a specific group of warfighters: namely, a squadron tasked with fooling the Axis armies into thinking that Allied forces were greater than they actually were. Through creative means of deception including inflatable tanks, convincing sound effects, and fake intelligence, it was a secret directive that recruited notables like designer Bill Blass and photographer Art Kane into its efforts.

The project sounds like a dream come true for Ben Affleck fans, as his skill set for telling true stories about diplomatic fakery was proven back in 2012, with the Best Picture winning film Argo. So if anything, Ghost Army feels like a spiritual prequel to that film, as it’s another case of the U.S. Government enlisting the best and brightest creative minds to turn the tide of an international conflict.

It would be a welcome return of Affleck’s writing/directing efforts, as he’s been out of action in those respects since 2017’s unfortunate flop Live By Night. But with his acting chops still moving along, most recently in Netflix’s Triple Frontier, one third of the equation is already raring to go with the challenges that Ghost Army will present.

It’s a moment that has been long awaited for Ben Affleck, as when Variety grabbed the scoop, they also reported that he’d been looking to set up camp with Ghost Army for quite some time. But now, it looks like his scheduling has timed out just right with Universal’s intent for the project, allowing all to move forward.

That being said, it’s still up in the air as to when exactly Ghost Army will start marching into production, as Affleck will still need to do some rewrite work on the film. This is after a script originated by Shazam! writer Henry Gayden, as well as a rewrite by True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto.

Seeing Ben Affleck come back to writing and directing with Ghost Army is something exciting for fans, as his recent departure from the DCEU felt like a bump in the road for his recent career. Now all that has to happen is for Kevin Smith to write a reunion between himself and one of the characters Affleck played in his View Askew-niverse, or for Warner Bros to greenlight The Accountant 2, and all will be right with the world.

Ghost Army has no production start date specified, or release date in mind. If you want to see what 2019 has on offer for eager moviegoers, you can take a look at our 2019 release schedule and find your next night at the movies!

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What Amy Seimetz Loves About The Changes Made To Her Pet Sematary Character

What Amy Seimetz Loves About The Changes Made To Her Pet Sematary Character

In the original 1989 film and in Stephen King’s Pet Sematary novel, Zelda was the sister of Rachel Creed who died from spinal meningitis when they were children. Caring for her sister and her death traumatized Rachel into adulthood, and the new Pet Sematary, from directors Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer, is doubling down on Zelda. Speaking about how that changes things for her character Rachel, actress Amy Seimetz said:

I love having a meal to chew as an actor. I love what they did with it and I think that, what I’ve been talking about too is that what’s interesting of making her have more agency and a little more actionable is that she has this guilt that she’s dealing with and feels responsible for Zelda’s death. I think that’s really interesting because just in grief in general you always feel some amount of guilt in some way, as if you could control the outcome. You can’t control death, death is coming to everyone.

That last line sounds like something Melisandre of Asshai would say on Game of Thrones, and it certainly fits for the prevalence of death in Pet Sematary. It seems that Amy Seimetz loved the changes made for the new Pet Sematary and how they affected her character and made for a more rewarding acting experience. As she told CinemaBlend’s own Sean O’Connell in a conversation at SXSW, Rachel’s story gives her a lot to do and a lot to work with as an actor.

It seems like the new Pet Sematary will make Rachel a more fully fleshed out character that is making more choices, and not just having things happen to her. It also sounds like we will better understand Rachel’s trauma, and how that shaped the way she is reacting to the horrific events happening in the present day in the film as death comes for her family once again.

Rachel feels guilty and responsible for the death of her sister and that guilt has stayed with her throughout her life. That makes for a compelling character and as Amy Seimetz said, it is something that is universal and inescapable.

Guilt over the loss of a loved one, the feeling of powerlessness and regret is something we all experience. Is it our fault and could we have done more are questions that assault you in the wake of the death of a loved one, and ultimately just get quieter but never go away. This is especially true for Rachel and the death of her sister Zelda, whose illness was a burden on her family and especially Rachel.

You can hear Amy Seimetz discussing Rachel with Sean in the video below.

If you’ve seen the original 1989 Pet Sematary, you know that the scenes with Zelda are some of the most horrifying to behold, so it is exciting that the Rachel and Zelda story seems to be getting a little extra in this remake. In the original film Zelda was played by a man and the scenes had a bit of a dreamy quality, but they look to be more realistic this time around to differentiate them. The most recent trailer showed a snippet of Zelda, who is being played by Alyssa Brooke Levine, and it was nightmarish.

The early reactions to Pet Sematary are quite positive and indicate that this scary movie is very scary. The film is predicted to open around $20 million opposite Shazam!

Pet Sematary reminds us why sometimes dead is better when it opens in theaters on April 5. Check out our 2019 Release Guide to see all the movies you can look forward to this year.

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