Despite low box-office numbers for their latest live-action adaptation, “Mulan,” it seems Disney is moving ahead with a live-action adaptation “Peter Pan and Wendy.” And the film has found its new Tinkerbell in “Grown-ish” star Yara Shahidi.
According to Deadline, Shahidi has just been cast to play the new Tinkerbell in the latest adaptation of J. M. Barrie novel about Peter Pan, the boy who wouldn’t age. This particular adaptation, “Peter Pan and Wendy” already has an exciting team behind it. Shahidi is joining the already announced Jude Law and Captain Hook, and David Lowery is set to direct and co-write the script with Toby Halbrooks.
Shahidi will be the first woman of color to star in the role, following previous live-action Tinkerbell like Julia Roberts in the it’s-good-actually “Hook” and Ludivine Sagnier in 2003’s even better version of “Peter Pan.” This is the latest effort by Disney to diversify the casting of characters previously portrayed as white in their animated films, following the casting of Halle Bailey as Ariel in the upcoming live-action remake of “Little Mermaid.” Of course, this is sure to bring nothing but a calm and decent discourse and no angry, ignorant comments. No sir.
Lowery’s involvement immediately puts “Peter Pan and Wendy” ahead of other Disney live-action adaptations in terms of how likely it is to actually be any good. After all, the director is no stranger to Disney’s live-action trend, having directed the vastly underrated and absolutely charming “Pete’s Dragon.” And that’s not to mention previous Lowery/Halbrooks team-ups such as “A Ghost Story.”
Last we heard, Disney was considering a live-action spin-off of the character, with Reese Witherspoon set to star as the titular Tinkerbell. It is likely to assume that project has been shelved in favor of “Peter Pan and Wendy.” Deadline reports that Lowery “quickly pursued Shahidi” early in production.
