Naomi Scott and Mena Massoud pose with their co-stars at the press conference for Aladdin in Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon (May 19).
The two stars were joined by Will Smith, Nasim Pedrad, Navid Negahban, plus production designer Gemma Jackson, composer Alan Menken, and director Guy Ritchie to chat up the movie ahead of the premiere this week.
Speaking with NY Daily News recently, Naomi and Mena opened up about making the iconic characters their own for the flick.
“We wanted her to be even more ambitious,” Naomi says of bringing a new life to Jasmine. “In the original, she’s fighting for the choice to marry who she wants, which is amazing, but in this movie, she’s not just fighting for her own choice. She’s fighting for the freedom and the choice of her people.”
She adds, “At the beginning of the movie, her objective is she wants to lead. I think that’s really important, because I think sometimes it’s about just telling the story through a female narrative. Actually having a narrative, whatever that may be. For Jasmine, that’s finding her voice.”
Mena says of Aladdin, “He’s on a search for his personal identity, and I think that’s something that everybody goes through. I went through it in high school. It’s like, ‘Who am I? Am I good enough? Is my background good enough? I know I’m different, but do I have a voice?’ (Aladdin) literally goes on that journey in the film.”
Aladdin hits theaters on Friday, May 24th.
FYI: Naomi is wearing Balmain. Mena is wearing an AllSaints bomber jacket.
