People are genuinely terrified by Will Smith’s blue genie in the new Aladdin trailer

But not everyone was convinced by the first look at Smith in the role previously voiced by Robin Williams in the 1992 animated version.

Early viewers said the mix of live-action and CGI alongside Smith’s very blue appearance was, frankly, a bit creepy.

• Watch the first teaser for the live-action version of Aladdin
• Will Smith shares first look at live-action Aladdin cast
• Will Smith in talks to play the Genie in live-action Aladdin movie

We first saw Smith, 50, as the Genie on the front cover of American magazine Entertainment Weekly – with significantly less blue skin.

It was later clarified that this was an image of the Genie in his “human/disguise form”.

Speaking about taking on the beloved role, Smith told the magazine, “Whenever you’re doing things that are iconic, it’s always terrifying. The question is always: Where was there meat left on the bone? Robin didn’t leave a lot of meat on the bone with the character."

He added that he would not try to "compete" with Williams' performance, instead bringing a different character to the role: "Just the flavour of the character would be different enough and unique enough that it would be in a different lane, versus trying to compete."

The trailer also showed Aladdin, played by Mena Massoud, entering the forbidden cave, and teased Naomi Scott as Princess Jasmine and Marwan Kenzari as the evil Jafar.

The film directed by Guy Ritchie is the latest of a string of Disney live-action remakes, and is set for a May release date.

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