'Life just goes on': Mena Massoud doubts Aladdin sequel will happen

Mena Massoud has cast doubt on the possibility of an 'Aladdin' sequel.

The 32-year-old actor played the title role in Guy Ritchie's 2019 live-action remake of the Disney feature and explained that he is ready to move on from the project as progress on a follow-up film seemingly hasn't been made due to the Hollywood strikes this year.

Mena told Screen Rant: "I don't have any updates. I think like you said, the strike kind of just put everything on hold. I know they were trying to get it off the ground for a long time but I have no idea where it's at.

"Listen, we shot in 2017. It's been six years now since we shot and wrapped the project. To me, at a certain point, life just goes on."

He continued: "I'm sure they have their reasons. I know they were trying for a long time, so I don't know what the obstacles exactly were. But maybe now the strike is over, they'll continue to try to get it off the ground."

It was reported earlier this year that Will Smith was set to reprise his role as the Genie in the sequel – marking one of his first major parts since he slapped comedian Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars last year.

A movie insider told The Sun newspaper's Bizarre column: "This would be one of the first movies Will has shot since the Oscars slap and it is quite surprising, given that it will be for a kids' film.

"He has done a lot of work on himself and the consensus is that it will all be very much in the past by the time the movie is released.

"The first film was a huge success so it would be silly not to make another, and it would be a real shame to have to re-cast Will over what happened.

"So Disney is keen to stand by him and bring him back into the fold."