Oscar-winning lyricists Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (La La Land, The Greatest Showman) have revealed to Variety that they are working with legendary Disney composer Alan Menken on two new songs for next year’s live-action remake of the animated classic Aladdin.
“We got to collaborate with one of our heroes, Alan Menken, and we collaborated with him and wrote the lyrics for two new songs,” said Pasek. “[We’d] suck him dry for all the stories that he would tell us. He’d be like, ‘Guys, let’s get to work,’ and we’d be like, ‘Another story, another story!’ We probably delayed work for several weeks just trying to be like, ‘Tell us about Ariel! Tell us about Ursula!’ We freaked out . . . and [are] really thrilled to be part of the Disney family, too.”
"The Greatest Showman" songwriters Benj Pasek & Justin Paul are working on new music for Disney's #Aladdin (Watch) pic.twitter.com/ChjfFssMi6
— Variety (@Variety) March 5, 2018
Aladdin is being directed by Guy Ritchie (King Arthur: Legend of the Sword) and features a cast that includes Mena Massoud (Aladdin), Naomi Scott (Princess Jasmine), Will Smith (Genie), Marwan Kenzari (Jafar), Navid Negahban (The Sultan), Nasim Pedrad (Dalia); Billy Magnussen (Prince Anders) and Numan Acar (Hakim). It is set for release on May 24th 2019.
