Disney announced the cast for their live-action remake of Aladdin this summer, and it turns out Princess Jasmine will be pretty different from the animated version of the character. Naomi Scott, who will be playing the princess, described the new Jasmine as “a multidimensional woman.”
When it came to deciding how the classic characters would be portrayed in the film, Scott said Disney built Jasmine from the ground up. “Everyone involved in this project weren’t afraid to really just rip things down and start again, especially the Princess Jasmine character, because it’s so important to get that right,” Scott told The Hollywood Reporter. The first change viewers will notice is that Jasmine is more of a leader. “You really get in this adaptation of the movie that her heart is for her people, and her main objective is what’s best for her kingdom,” she said. “And you really get a sense that she has those leadership qualities within her.” How exciting!
While Jasmine is the only female character in the animated movie, that won’t be the case in the live-action film. Instead of her tiger Rajah being her sidekick, a handmaiden named Dalia will be Jasmine’s best friend. This will show a different side of the princess. “The Dalia character is so important to this movie because she’s the only other female character,” Scott said. “She may be the handmaiden but they’re best friends; they’re so close because they’ve grown up together. So we wanted people to watch the movie and see Jasmine’s relationship with another woman, and be like, ‘Ah, that’s what I’m like with my girlfriend,’ or ‘We would so do that if I was in that position.’ That’s something that’s missing from the animation.” I’m honestly so excited to see this dynamic.
Jasmine will be more than just the princess who doesn’t want to marry any of her father’s choices for her, too. Scott said it’s nice to see Disney trying to make this princess into a “real human being,” like they have been with their other live-action princesses. “Being a female character is also about being a real person, and guess what? [She] can be strong and have fun, but also get it wrong and be emotional. She’s a multidimensional woman, and she doesn’t have to just be one thing. So in this movie, you see her go on such a roller coaster, as opposed to her one goal being to fall in love or get married.” Yes, girl. Princesses can be more than just girls waiting around for princes.
I’m so excited to see how Jasmine’s character develops. I think it’ll be fun to see her let loose a little more than she did in the animated film. I hope they can capture all her different sides while staying true to the storyline. Unfortunately, we’ll be waiting until May 24, 2019 to find out.