DUBAI: The cast of the upcoming live-action version of Disney’s “Aladdin” visited Jordan on Monday to promote the film, ahead of its wider Gulf release.
Director Guy Ritchie was joined by actors Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott and Will Smith at a press junket in Amman, where the actors talked about their experiences shooting the film.
The press event also saw Egyptian-Canadian actor Massoud speaking in Arabic: “Inshallah, may God bring more happy days to the Arab and Muslim communities and Ramadan Kareem” he said.
Jordan’s Wadi Rum, a famous desert destination in the country’s south, was one of the locations where some major scenes were shot.
Smith, who plays the iconic Genie character, took to Instagram to thank the “Royal Family and the People of Jordan for allowing our Aladdin family to film in your gorgeous country.”
A short video showed four of them at the Amman Citadel, another tourist destination in Jordan.
Massoud echoed Smith’s gratitude to the people of Jordan and the royal family on his Twitter account.
To the great People of Jordan and the Royal Family - your generosity and beauty will forever be remembered by all of us in #Aladdin. Shokran Kol sana wintoo taya2bean. pic.twitter.com/MefQaRss65
— Mena Massoud (@MenaMassoud) May 14, 2019
The team attended a screening after the press conference, and they were joined by Prince Ali bin Hussein, the chairman of Jordan’s Royal Film Commission.
They will head to Mexico and Japan as part of their international press tour.
