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The creators of the live action Aladdin remake somehow managed to find a way to include a white person.

Billy Magnussen, of Into the Woods, will be playing a new character, in the film. He is supposedly a prince who is rivaling Aladdin for Jasmine’s hand. This is not a character from the original animated film but a new role created for the live action.

I’ve been critical of the movie in the past, so I’m not really surprised that the folks who decided to make a movie with orientalist foundations have to include a white person. It is, after all, a movie by and for white people.

The movie has also come into fire for not hiring an Arab actor to play Jasmine–although to be fair, no one really knows where Agrabah is located but it vaguely seems to take place in the Middle East. Either way, no one really knows what’s happening with Aladdin’s live action remake.

As of yet, no outlet seems to have a comment from the Disney studio making the film about the casting decision.

For a movie that has already had to grapple with the frustration of orientalism, adding a made-up white character to lighten up the complexion of the narrative serves no one. Let’s see if Disney listens to their fans and makes the right move.