Disney knows not to mess up a good thing, and they’ve found one with the success Alan Tudyk has brought them in numerous films, both live-action and animated. And so they’ve turned to him again to voice a key role in Guy Ritchie’s Aladdin, that of Jafar’s pet parrot Iago.
Tudyk has been cast in the role of Iago, replacing the screechy Gilbert Gottfried who so memorably voiced him in the 1993 animated film. Disney has been able to count on Tudyk multiple times, as he’s voiced characters in Wreck-It Ralph and its sequel, Frozen, Big Hero 6, Zootopia, and Moana. He also added a surprising amount of emotion to the voice of android K-2SO in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Those familiar with Tudyk from his role on Firefly may be surprised to learn he’s become such a prolific voice actor. He’s currently voicing Mr. Nobody on the DC Universe series Doom Patrol, too.
Iago was mostly used for comic relief, which happens to be a Tudyk strength so I expect that won’t change much.
Aladdin opens May 24th and stars Naomi Scott, Mena Massoud, Will Smith, Billy Magnussen, Marwan Kenzari, Navid Negahban, Nasim Pedrad, and Numan Acar.
