Disney slammed over its decision to cast a white actor in live-action remake of Aladdin

DISNEY is being slammed over its decision to cast a white actor in the upcoming live-action remake of Aladdin, with a number of people taking to social media and accusing the studio giant of “whitewashing” the film’s plot.

It follows the announcement that Billy Magnussen, who played a prince in Disney’s Into the Woods, was slated to play Prince Anders, who was not a character in the 1992 animated version.

The Telegraph reported that Magnussen’s character would be Aladdin’s rival to winning over Princess Jasmine’s heart.

Social media critics have slammed the casting decision, with someone tweeting: “Should #actor Billy Magnussen step down as ‘Prince Anders’ the newly created white character in #Aladdin?”

“Why did they add a white prince to #Aladdin? This is going to be a disaster,” another Twitter user wrote.

The original animated Disney film was based on an Arab-style folktale and depicted the characters as being of Middle Eastern descent.

The upcoming live-action film has already been criticised for its casting.

Disney was slammed for casting British actress Naomi Scott, who has Indian heritage, to play Jasmine, a Middle Eastern princess, according to the independent.

The film, which was set to be directed by Madonna’s former husband, Guy Ritchie, does not have a release date yet.

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