Peter Pan & Wendy is an upcoming American fantasy adventure film directed by David Lowery, who co-wrote the screenplay with Toby Halbrooks, with Jim Whitaker and Joe Roth serving as producers. The film is a live-action adaptation of Walt Disney's 1953 animated film Peter Pan, in turn based on the 1904 play Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up (also known as Peter and Wendy) by J. M. Barrie. The film stars Alexander Molony (in his film debut) as Peter and Ever Anderson as Wendy. Jude Law, Yara Shahidi, Jim Gaffigan, Alan Tudyk, and Molly Parker also appear in supporting roles.
Development on a live-action Peter Pan film began on April 13, 2016, with Lowery confirmed to direct. Lowery was announced as also co-writing the film with Halbrooks, while the production team expanded the next four years due to work in the remake's script. The film's title was announced on January 7, 2020.
Peter Pan & Wendy is scheduled to premiere on Disney+ on April 28, 2023.
Cast[]
- Alexander Molony as Peter Pan
- Ever Anderson as Wendy Darling
- Jude Law as Captain Hook
- Yara Shahidi as Tinker Bell
- Alyssa Wapanatâhk as Tiger Lily
- Jim Gaffigan as Mr. Smee
- Alan Tudyk as George Darling
- Molly Parker as Mary Darling
- Joshua Pickering as John Darling
- Jacobi Jupe as Michael Darling
- Noah Matthews Matofsky as Slightly
- Sebastian Billingsley-Rodriguez as Nibs
- Skyler and Kelsey Yates as Tudy and Rudy the Twins
- Florence Bensberg as Curly
- Caelan Edie as Tootles
- Diana Tsoy as Birdie
- Felix de Sousa as Bellweather
Production[]
Development and pre-production[]
In April 2016, it was announced that Walt Disney Pictures was in early development for a live-action adaptation of the 1953 animated film, Peter Pan. David Lowery signed on as director, with a script he co-wrote with Toby Halbrooks. The pair previously worked together on the 2016 remake of Disney's Pete's Dragon. Jim Whitaker will serve as the main producer on the project.
In February 2018, Whitaker stated that the script was entering early stages of development. He further explained that the film will be grounded in realism, though it will also be "a big, rollicking adventure, too". By October of the same year, the fourth draft of the script had been completed with a fifth draft underway. Lowery stated that "the number-one priority is getting the script right". The director elaborated that the project is personal to him, as he is a fan to the original, acknowledging that he had been "agonizing over every little detail". He confirmed that the modern-day adaptation would have to change elements to avoid the racial stereotypes present in the original film.
In December 2019, Lowery stated that he and Halbrooks had written an additional "draft-and-a-half" at that point, adding that it would have to have "a few more drafts to go" before it is ready to be filmed. He described working on the film as "challenging" due to both his personal love for the original film and its popularity among fans. He also feels that he had to justify the film's existence due to other live-action Peter Pan films having been developed, while also doing "justice to the source material". The filmmaker stated that the outlook that he and the studio has, is: "[i]f it has to be done, it has to be done right". Comparing his work on Peter Pan to Pete's Dragon, he stated that the latter was less stress seeing as the original had been an "under-the-radar Disney title" with little following, which allowed him more creative freedom. By 2020, the film was officially titled Peter Pan & Wendy. Joe Roth joined the film's production team as an additional producer.
Casting[]
Alexander Molony and Ever Anderson were reported to have been cast as Peter Pan and Wendy Darling, respectively, in March 2020. By July of the same year, Jude Law had entered early negotiations to play Captain James Hook. Law would be confirmed in September, with Yara Shahidi cast to play Tinker Bell. In October 2020, Alyssa Wapanatâhk was confirmed to play Tiger Lily. In January 2021, Jim Gaffigan joined the cast as Mr. Smee. On March 16, 2021, Alan Tudyk, Molly Parker, Joshua Pickering, and Jacobi Jupe were announced to play Mr. Darling, Mrs. Darling, John Darling, and Michael Darling, respectively, as principal photography officially began.
Filming[]
Production for Peter Pan & Wendy took place in Vancouver, British Columbia. It was originally set to begin on April 17, 2020, and wrap in August 2020, but filming was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Filming began on March 16, 2021. Additional filming took place on the Bonavista Peninsula of Newfoundland and Labrador, in August 2021. Reshoots took place in Vancouver, from February 2 to 8, 2022.
Release[]
The film was originally set to be released on Disney's streaming service, Disney+ but was later scheduled to be released theatrically, until in December 2020, the film was officially announced to be released as a Disney+ exclusive again, originally due to the COVID-19 pandemic before Disney stuck with the decision regardless. The film is scheduled to be released on Disney+ on April 28, 2023.
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