Will Smith officially cast as Genie in Disney’s live-action Aladdin remake

It's official!

Will Smith will play Genie in the upcoming live-action remake of Aladdin and we can't think of a better man for the job.. 

Disney made the announcement at the D23 Expo on Saturday, confirming previous rumours the Will Smith would follow in Robin Williams' footsteps for Guy Ritchie's adaptation.

It was also announced that Naomi Scott will play the part of Princess Jasmine, while newcomer, Mena Massoud will take on the coveted role of Aladdin himself.

Massoud, who was born in Egypt and raised in Canada, is part of the cast of Amazon's Jack Ryan series starring John Krasinski, while Naomi is a British actress and singer whose mother is from northern India, and has appeared in the film The 33 and the Fox series Terra Nova. 

Aladdin is the latest in a string of Disney classics to be given a live-action make over, with films like Beauty and the Beast and The Jungle Book already having proved to be box office hits. 

The original animated classic was the highest grossing film of the year in 1992 and even won awards for Best Score and Best Song with A Whole New World.

The remake is set to begin shooting in London some time this year, and if the cast so far is anything to go by, it looks like we're in for something really special.