A Disney showdown is brewing on Twitter and it looks like Aladdin is coming for Ariel.
Canadian actor Mena Massoud, who played Aladdin in the 2019 live action remake, threw shade at The Little Mermaid movie by giving his projections for its box office sales.
Massoud said the movie would not reach the $1-billion mark at the global box office as his film did four years ago.
“Our film was unique in that audiences went to watch it multiple times. It’s the only way we reached the billion dollar mark with our opening. My guess is TLM (The Little Mermaid) doesn’t cross the billion mark but will undoubtedly get a sequel,” he tweeted on Saturday.
The tweet garnered over 300,000 views before Massoud deleted his Twitter profile following backlash over his comments.
Many Disney fans joined in on the conversation and many people seemingly did not agree with his sentiments.
“He’s weird for saying that. Anyways, we will be heading to the theatres to see The Little Mermaid,” one Twitter user wrote.
“Someone is extremely salty Aladdin didn’t get a sequel,” another said.
Others pointed to the fact that Massoud had once admitted he struggled to book roles after his movie came out and was possibly projecting his feelings.
“I’m kind of tired of staying quiet about it. I want people to know that it’s not always dandelions and roses when you’re doing something like Aladdin,” he shared in an interview with The Daily Beast back in Dec. 2019.
“He must have made millions. He must be getting all these offers.’ It’s none of those things. I haven’t had a single audition since Aladdin came out,” he said. “The big truth is I haven’t really seen a big anything from [Aladdin].”
Halle Bailey, who plays Ariel in The Little Mermaid, has not publicly commented on Massoud’s tweets.
