While the jokes kept coming, the reveal of Will Smith’s Genie appeared to be the stuff of actual nightmares for countless Twitter users. “Will Smith genie is what appears in my room when I have sleep paralysis,” YouTuber Jenny Nicholson tweeted, while John Paul Brammer of the Trevor Project wrote, “The bar I’m in had the most VISCERAL reaction of horror to Will Smith in the Aladdin trailer I’m screaming.”
Meanwhile, Kyle Buchanan of The New York Times devoted an entire Twitter thread to his horrified response, even going so far as to jokingly compare the live-action CGI Genie to the unseen monsters in Netflix’s Bird Box. “They premiered this image at night??? We are supposed to sleep after this??? I have never known peace,” he wrote, later adding, “Honestly the Will Smith genie feels like a spoiler for BIRD BOX because I finally understand what image would make them so fascinated but also want to kill themselves.”
All these posts racked up tens of thousands of likes, highlighting just how many other people felt the same way. So, if you lost some sleep over Smith’s Genie reveal, you’re, at least, not alone.
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