Aladdin star Mena Massoud deleted his Twitter account after receiving backlash for his prediction about how Disney's The Little Mermaid live-action remake will perform at the box office.
The Little Mermaid is the latest in a long line of past and upcoming remakes of Disney's animated classics. One of the most successful live-action remakes was Aladdin, which starred Massoud as the titular hero and grossed over $1 billion after opening with $116.8 million over the 4-day memorial day weekend in 2019.
However, an Aladdin sequel has not entered production yet despite being in development for several years. Massoud previously expressed doubts about an Aladdin sequel happening, and now his latest comments on the subject have landed him in trouble with fans online. "Our film was unique in that audiences went to watch it multiple times. It's the only way we reached the billion dollar mark with our opening," Massoud wrote on Twitter in response to a post by The Hollywood Handle. "My guess is [The Little Mermaid] doesn't cross the billion dollar mark but will undoubtedly get a sequel." Massoud received criticism for his comments, prompting him to delete his Twitter account shortly after.
Massoud's comments about The Little Mermaid might have stemmed from frustration over Disney's inability to move forward with an Aladdin sequel. This is not the first time Massoud has been candid about the double-standard Aladdin's success has faced. In December 2019, Massoud claimed he was not offered any roles or invited for an audition after Aladdin despite being the lead star of the billion-dollar film. It's not like Massoud wasn't putting his name out there, as the actor openly campaigned for the role of Ezra Bridger in a live-action Star Wars project.
Massoud's expectations for his career and an Aladdin sequel are arguably reasonable. It could be argued that the Aladdin brand and co-star Will Smith were enough to draw in audiences regardless of who played Aladdin. However, considering Hollywood often greenlights and produces sequels to hit films quickly, some people understandably believe an Aladdin sequel and Massoud's career would have taken off immediately had the film's cast been primarily white.
Still, The Little Mermaid is facing its own racist complaints, so Massoud's comments were seemingly taken by some people as more unnecessary criticism. While Massoud may have a point about Aladdin that others agree with, perhaps everyone should be rooting for Halle Bailey's success as Ariel in what will hopefully be a worthy retelling of The Little Mermaid.
The Little Mermaid will be released in theaters on May 26, 2023.
Source: Pop Crave