Whitewashing? Tom Hardy rumored to play ‘Aladdin’ villain
DAMMAM: Disney’s upcoming “Aladdin” live-action remake has been met with whitewashing accusations after it was reported Tom Hardy was lined up to take on a key role in the adaptation. The English actor, however, has denied the news.
According to The Sun, director Guy Ritchie is leaning toward Hardy to play the role of Jafar, the scepterwielding, fashionable-cape-sporting villain.
Speaking about Hardy’s potential involvement in the upcoming film, a source said: “Guy is a huge fan of Tom’s work and securing him would be a major coup.”
The potential decision of casting Hardy as Jafar got Twitter in a frenzy over concerns of whitewashing, or casting white actors in nonwhite roles at the expense of nonwhite actors.
One fan tweeted: “Tom Hardy is apparently in talks to be play Jafar in Guy Ritchie’s Aladdin so it’s nice to see white men in Hollywood never ... change.”
Another wrote: “Great another diverse role gets white washed by Hollywood! @DisneyStudios”
“I wonder if in order to gain more audience they will replace parrot with dog and genie with fairy godmother,” posted one user.
However, Hardy’s representative has denied he has been approached.
“There is no truth to this rumor,” a spokesperson for the actor told the London Evening Standard.
Ever since the movie’s announcement, a big question surrounding the production has been whether Disney and Ritchie will do the story justice by casting Middle Eastern actors.