8 Upcoming Movies That Have Sparked Massive Controversy

5. Aladdin

Release Date: 24 May 2019

The Controversy: There are a couple of sticking points surrounding Disney's upcoming live-action Aladdin remake, and all center around the notion of whitewashing.

There was a huge outcry late last year when the Caucasian Billy Magnussen was cast as a brand-new character, with many people questioning why the studio felt the need to create such a character in the first place, considering Aladdin's story is based in the Middle East.

Then, just recently, one of the film's extras told The Times that he'd spotted several fair-skinned actors waiting to have their skin darkened with makeup.

It's easy to see why people became upset over both these instances. Darkening skin with makeup is absolutely ridiculous; Aladdin is a quintessentially Middle Eastern story, and to lessen the importance of that by turning it into something that can be erased with a makeup wipe is simply embarrassing.

And Magnussen's addition to the cast simply feels unnecessary, given how well the original tale worked without such a character. But on the other hand, it's important to not pass judgement too quickly; this could be one of the film's standout roles, and it's not as though he's replacing any of the Middle Eastern characters from the original.