'Aladdin' Live Action Film: Twitter Has No Time For Guy Ritchie's Reported Casting Struggles

'If the film industry can actively seek out Middle Eastern actors to portray terrorists, it shouldn't be this difficult finding one for Aladdin.'

The news that Guy Ritchie is reportedly having problems casting stars for ‘Aladdin’ has left many Twitter users getting out their tiny violins and having a moment of sarcastic silence for the director.

Diversity is rightly a hot topic in Hollywood right now, and following a promise that this film would be taking an “authentic” approach to casting, all eyes are on Guy.

So, when The Hollywood Reporter stated that - despite an international open casting call and talks with a series of big names - Disney is still struggling to find a leading man, the good people of Twitter had more than a few observations to make.

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Guy Ritchie
David M Benett via Getty Images

For the most part, the tweets can be split into two groups, starting with the wonderfully snidey comments:

Then there were some genuine suggestions:

Little Mix star Jade Thirlwall has already been linked with the film, but claims she might be close to landing the role of Jasmine are yet to be addressed by Disney.

Meanwhile, a representative for Tom Hardy denied reports that he was in talks to play the film’s villain, Jafar.

Film Remakes We Love To Hate
The Stepford Wives (2004)(01 of12)
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Essentially everyone involved in this remake has since distanced themselves from it, including both Nicole Kidman and Matthew Broderick, while Frank Oz admitted he “f***ed up” with ‘The Stepford Wives’, which was marred by rumours of on-set fighting and several rewrites during production. (credit:Snap Stills/REX)
Planet Of The Apes (2001)(02 of12)
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This bizarre shot of an ape superimposed on the Lincoln Memorial probably tells you everything you need to know, really. (credit:20th Century Fox)
Swept Away (2002)(03 of12)
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Often billed as not just one of the worst remakes, but one of the worst films ever, ‘Swept Away’ is truly a low for both Madonna and her then-husband Guy Ritchie, scooping an arguably impressive (depending on how you look it) five Golden Raspberry Awards, including Worst Film, Worst Screen Couple and Worst Director. (credit:Screen Gems/Everett/REX)
Alfie (2004)(04 of12)
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Seriously, Jude Law. What *was* it all about? (credit:Nils Jorgensen/REX)
Annie (2014)(05 of12)
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Despite an all-star cast and the backing of Jay-Z and Will Smith, ‘Annie’ was savaged by critics, with Entertainment Weekly branding the soundtrack an ‘AutoTuned disaster’, although Quvenzhané Wallis was largely praised for her performance. (credit:Columbia Pictures)
The Pink Panther (2006)(06 of12)
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This remake received mostly negative reviews upon its release and was deemed a rare misfire for Steve Martin, but that didn’t stop a sequel coming out - which was, of course, panned even more. (credit:Col Pics/Everett/REX)
The Wicker Man (2006)(07 of12)
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While the original film is hailed as one of the scariest horrors ever, the Nicolas Cage remake is more commonly associated with the comedy genre… though we’re not sure that’s quite what the filmmakers had in mind. (credit:Snap Stills/Rex)
A Nightmare On Elm Street (2010)(08 of12)
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A remake so irrelevant we didn’t actually realise it existed… most reviews of ‘A Nightmare On Elm Street’ praised the newly-updated special effects, but claimed the remake couldn’t live up to its predecessor from the 1980s. (credit:Moviestore/Rex)
The Day The Earth Stood Still (2008)(09 of12)
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Heavily criticised for relying on style over substance, reviewers praised the special effects of the film, but felt that without much of a story to hold things together, it wasn’t a worthy successor to the 1950s original. (credit:Snap Stills/Rex)
House Of Wax (2005)(10 of12)
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A film best known for the ‘See Paris Die!’ campaign that preceded its releasing, referring to its star, Paris Hilton. Well, at least that was a distraction from the film itself... (credit:Warner Br/Everett/REX)
The Karate Kid (2010)(11 of12)
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When even the presence of God-amongst-men Jaden Smith can’t save your film, you know you’re doomed. (credit:Col Pics/Everett/REX)
Psycho (1998)(12 of12)
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Even director Gus Van Sant admitted, shortly after Psycho’s release, that the shot-for-shot remake of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic had been an “experiment”, which proved that no one can copy a film in exactly the same way as the original. (credit:Universal/Everett/REX)