For Disney fans far and wide, the stakes are high when it comes to the company’s upcoming live-action adaptation of Aladdin. Even so, fans can rest easy knowing the music is in the capable hands of famed composer Alan Menken.

Menken, who worked with Howard Ashman and Tim Rice on the soundtrack for the 90s animated version of Aladdin, is set to return for the musical adaptation, and he’s already working closely with director Guy Ritchie!

In a recent interview with Billboard, Menken teased that the process of working on Aladdin alongside Ritchie has been interesting because this is the director’s first attempt at directing a musical.

“It’s a very fluid process. Guy Ritchie is directing and he’s never directed a musical before so it’s going to be a lot of attempts to reinvent the wheel,” explained Menken. “Where it’s re-inventable, we will do it and where it’s not, we will discover that together. But it has to be avery fast discovery process because at this point shooting is supposed to start in August.”

The fact that shooting for Aladdin is set to start toward the tail end of this summer might surprise some Disney fans who have been keeping close tabs on the live-action adaptations for both Aladdin and The Little Mermaid.

Though Disney announced plans to bring The Little Mermaid to life first, Menken explained in the interview that he’s been prioritizing work on Aladdin for a very good reason.

“Both the producer and my collaborator on [The Little Mermaid], Lin-Manuel Miranda, are woking on Mary Poppins in London, so Aladdin has now jumped ahead of it and that’s what I’m in the thick of now,” said Menken.

We’ll be looking forward to seeing what both Guy Ritchie and Alan Menken serve up when Disney’s live-action adaptation of Aladdin hits theaters!