The First Look of Will Smith as the Blue Genie in Aladdin Has People Feeling “Haunted"

Allie Gemmill
I'm still processing, TBH.

During the 2019 Grammys, fans got an official look at Willl Smith as Genie in Disney's upcoming live-action adaptation of Aladdin. But from the reaction on the Internet, people were not ready to see the actor as the wish-granting blue jokester.

Sunday's trailer was the first time the world had seen Smith in blue-Genie form (reportedly, he will also have a "human/disguise form" during Aladdin), and gave us our first look at Jafar and Jasmine since the teaser and photos came out in December 2018. The trailer gave us plenty to get excited about, but its final seconds were completely dedicated to the first time Aladdin and Genie meet. And that's what set the Internet on fire.

In the trailer, Aladdin rubs the lamp and Genie emerges. As we hear him say, "You really don't know who I am? Genie, wishes, lamp...none of that is ringing a bell?" we get our first full view of Smith in character. The reactions to this first full view were mostly mixed to negative, with a lot of folks tweeting in horror about the way Will had been transformed into a CGI blue genie.

"They premiered this image at night??? We are supposed to sleep after this??? I have never known peace," New York Times journalist Kyle Buchanan tweeted. Entertainment journalist Britt Hayes tweeted, "This image is making my brain feel haunted rn." Meanwhile, the Trevor Project's John Paul Brammer shared on Twitter that the horrified reaction online was mirroring what was happening IRL: "The bar I’m in had the most VISCERAL reaction of horror to Will Smith in the Aladdin trailer I’m screaming."

There were some supporters of Smith's look, though. One Twitter user wrote, "I mean I personally think the new #Aladdin trailer was amazing. That’s just ME personally though," and used a GIF of Jasmine raising her eyebrow to really hammer the point home. Another wrote, "Wait shut the front door... A real life #Aladdin is happening yasss!!!! And freaking Will Smith is the Genie!!!! Yasssss!!!!! Sorry we can get back to the #GRAMMYs now. My inner child just came out in a big way lol!"

The reactions for and against the blue Genie are strong, but there's a chance things could change before Aladdin premieres on May 24. It's not impossible that all this buzz will be for nothing. Until we get to see the movie, though, we only have this teaser to work with.

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