There have been rumours about an Aladdin sequel since, well, basically a day after* Aladdin* was released in 1992.
But as much as we’re excited about the possibility of an upcoming sequel, we can’t help but feel sad about the lack of Robin Williams’ Genie. Especially now we know that his will specifically says that no outtakes of his Genie character can be used. Well not for a while anyway…
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The reason for Robin’s decision to ban any further use of Genie clips is primarily to prevent punitive financial punishment this would cause his children, due to complicated tax rules on posthumous earnings.
There is a 25-year limitation, however, so if Disney is still interested in rebooting the series it’ll have to wait until 2039.
Robin had a fraught relationship with Disney, with his request that his image (and the image of the Genie) not be used in any merchandise tie-ins, which was ignored by the studio, resulting in the comic refusing to lend his voice to The Return of Jafar.
However that was all smoothed over with a Picasso painting reportedly given to Robin as part of Disney's peace offering, and Robin returned as the Genie for Aladdin And The King Of Thieves.
Robin Williams' funniest moments
Robin Williams: 10 funniest quotes and best moments
1 of 10On working on the set of Mrs Doubtfire
“One time in makeup as Mrs Doubtfire, I walked into a sex shop in San Francisco and tried to buy a double-headed dildo. Just because. Why not? And the guy was about to sell it to me until he realised it was me – Robin Williams – not an older Scottish woman coming in to look for a very large dildo and a jar of lube. He just laughed and said, "What are you doing here?" and I left. Did I make the purchase? No.* Did I walk away with a really good story? *Yes.”
2 of 10“I think I wore it better!”
On Kim Kardashian’s Doubtfire-esque Met Gala 2013 Dress
3 of 10On heaven
When asked what he’d like to hear God say to him if he got to heaven, Williams told Inside Actor's Studio: “There’s seating near the front. The concert begins at 5:00. It’ll be Mozart, Elvis, and anyone of your choosing. Or if Heaven exists, it would be nice to know there’s laughter. That would be a great thing, to hear God go, ‘Two Jews walk into a bar…’”
4 of 10On divorce
“Ah yes, divorce… from the Latin word meaning ‘to rip out a man’s genitals through his wallet’.”
5 of 10On his two ex-wives
“I get on fabulously with my exes – now we’re not together any more. And they always appreciated my body hair, which was a plus, obviously.”
6 of 10On the experimental heart surgery that saw him fitted with a cow’s heart valve
“I can go to the toilet standing up now, which is nice, but I can’t eat meat, because I’ve become one of them, so it would be cannibalism.”
7 of 10On Aladdin
Explaining that the role of the Genie was originally meant to be very small, Williams said: “Initially they came in and I was just doing the scripted lines and I asked 'Do you mind if I try something?' and then 18 hours of recording later, they had the Genie. I just started playing, and they said, ‘Just go with it, go with it, go with it.’ So I improvised the character. I think that in the end, there were something like 40 different voices that I did for that role.” So much of the Genie’s part was improvised that the Academy Awards rejected the film’s bid for the ‘Best Adapted Screenplay’ nomination.
8 of 10On biology
“God gave men both a penis and a brain, but unfortunately not enough blood supply to run both at the same time.”
9 of 10On being a big kid
“You’re only given a little spark of madness. You mustn’t lose it.”
10 of 10On life
“I used to think that the worst thing in life was to end up alone. It’s not. The worst thing in life is to end up with people who make you feel alone.”