“Robin Williams didn’t leave much room”: Way Before Mrs. Doubtfire Remake Speculation, Will Smith Himself Wasn’t Sure about Replacing Comedy God in an Iconic Movie

It is a truth foretold that Robin Williamsʼs brilliance burned too bright for it to ever be replicated by any artist who came after him. This goes even for the most gifted of comedians that the industry ever produced, so much so that there have been very few artists who could even scratch the surface of unbridled creativity that Williams innately possessed.

Will Smith, for his part, is no less accomplished than the dozen other musically and comedically gifted actors of Hollywood. Within his filmography, the A-lister has delivered an oeuvre of work that rivals even the most sincere artists in this industry. Ranging from sci-fi to drama to Disney musicals to biographies to buddy comedies, there isnʼt one genre that Will Smith is incapable of mastering.

However, there is a limit to every artist, especially when it comes to stepping into the very large shoes of Robin Williams. Will Smith knew that too and as such, made it abundantly clear after his reputation as a comedic artist came eerily close to comparing his work to that of Robin Williams.

Will Smith Carves Out a Niche Reputation in Hollywood

For his own benefit, Will Smith knew the line that demarcated him from the illustrious, immaculate, and irreplaceable Robin Williams. While the latter proved to be a legend in improvisational comedy, Smith carefully carved out a niche place within the industry that respected his own artistic idiosyncrasies. He proved the same with his buddy cop franchise, Bad Boys, and once more with Men in Black during his reign in the 1990s.

As Smith moved into the 2000s, his growing reputation allowed him to shift toward more prestigious projects, including a Muhammad Ali biopic, a Karate Kid remake starring son Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan, and a Tom Cruise-backed project, I Am Legend. At the same time, Will Smith also built on his more naturalistic comedic roles by expanding on his Bad Boys and Men in Black IPs.

Not long after, fan accounts began airing the rumors of a possible Mrs. Doubtfire remake starring Will Smith in the lead. Despite the blasphemous claims, it was quickly debunked as a hoax, especially considering how Chris Columbus (director of Robin Williamsʼs iconic 1993 film) himself claimed there would be no sequel without the star of the first film.

In a November 2003 interview with Business Insider, Columbus revealed:

[Robin Williams] and I didn’t talk about a sequel until the year he passed away. We had a script that was written and it was the last time I saw Robin. I went to his house and we sat down and talked about it and the script was really strong.

Robin’s only comment was, ‘Boss, do I have to be in the suit as much this time?’ It was physically demanding. For Robin, I think it was like running a marathon every day he was in the Doubtfire costume. He was older, obviously.

Columbus further revealed the reason why the project never materialized despite the scriptʼs potential and Williamsʼs apparent interest in it:

We talked about it and I think he was hoping in the rewrite we would cut back on the Doubtfire character. But then Robin passed away so there will never be a sequel to ‘Mrs. Doubtfire.’

With the Doubtfire rumor behind him, Will Smith moved on to other projects. But ironically, it was his Disney foray with the 2019 live-action Aladdin film that stirred the waters after the media began comparing his role to that of Robin Williamsʼs iconic performance in the 1992 animated version of the same film.

Will Smith Shut Down Any Comparison to Robin Williams

While Will Smith embodied the legendary genie in Disneyʼs live-action adaptation of Aladdin, there remained speculation of how he was stepping into the shoes of the late Robin Williams despite there being a great divide between the animated and live-action genres. Even though Smith delivered a physically fantastic performance in the 2019 feature, the desire to speculate and draw some comparison to Robin Williamsʼs dynamic voice acting could not be ignored in some circles.

As such, while promoting the film, Smith took it upon himself to clear the air and shut down any comparison that put him in the same sentence as his legendary predecessor. During his appearance in Live With Kelly and Ryan, Smith relayed the thought process that went behind accepting the role:

You know, itʼs so scary, especially as an actor when you take on something. I mean, Robin Williams didnʼt leave much room in playing of the genie. He did such a brilliant job and he revolutionized what you could do in these kinds of movies. So when I first got the call, I was [hesitant], like, Iʼm not sure about that one. But I watched the movie a couple times, I listened to the music, and then I realized because it was going to be live-action, that gave a little bit of a different flair.

And then I discovered that what Robin did was he put all of his personality into it. And then for me, I thought – Okay, hip hop is where I was centered with the music. So if I injected my personality in that way, I could pay homage to Robin but also be able to create my own new thing, my own take on it.

Directed by Guy Ritchie, Disneyʼs live-action Aladdin became an incredible commercial success upon release, earning $1.054 billion at the global box office. However, while Robin Williamsʼs animated feature soared as a critical hit with a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Will Smithʼs film tanked with a mere 57% aggregate rating on the film critic website.

Both versions of Aladdin – animated and live-action – are available for streaming on Disney+