Deadline exclusively revealed that Yara Shahidi is set to play Tinkerbell in Disney’s upcoming live-action Peter Pan and Wendy.
Shahidi is most known for her role as Zoey in ABC’s Black-ish. She went on to star in the spinoff series Grown-ish and ABC Studios has signed her onto an overall deal. She also recently starred in the film The Sun is Also a Star.
Shahidi will be making history as the first Black actress to portray Peter Pan’s fairy friend on screen. Disney’s live-action films have been making multiple strides to include a diverse array of actors, most notably in the casting of Halle Bailey as Ariel in the upcoming The Little Mermaid.
Peter Pan and Wendy will be directed by David Lowery, who also directed the live-action Pete’s Dragon. Jude Law will reportedly be playing Captain Hook, while Alexander Molony has been cast as Peter Pan and Ever Anderson has been cast as Wendy. The film was originally set to be released on Disney+ but will now be released theatrically. Production is expected to begin next year but there is no release date for the film.
Why? Seems like a deliberate pattern now. They have taken so much care in the past to present the in park characters as close to the movies. What are they going to do in the future when you have multiple versions, appearance-wise of the same character. Before I get accused of being racist, I would also have a problem with a gender or hair color change. What’s next a white Tiana in the live action remake. I’m confident not, and glad!
The more important question should be “Why NOT?” Disney has had alternate versions of characters several times in the past without it being a concern, appearance-wise – e.g., no version of Genie in the parks has taken on the appearance or characteristics of “Will Smith in blue face.” Baloo, Dumbo, Timon, Pumbaa, Zazu and Winnie the Pooh haven’t received park makeovers despite recent cinematic overhauls to their looks. And don’t even get me started on Mickey Mouse – how many different versions of him have existed and still do, especially if you factor in the new Runaway Railway attraction?
Also, if we’re talking about “appearances,” should Disney be extra careful to avoid park versions of characters who died in their films? That would mean no Evil Queen photo op at Storybook Dining. No Gaston meet-and-greet in Fantasyland. No Ursula parade float. If they really want to take great care “to present the in-park characters as close to the movies,” they should remove the aforementioned experiences as well. Thankfully, there’s such a thing as artistic license, which is even easier to apply to fictional characters, so I’m confident they won’t, and glad!
Just very disappointed doesn’t make any sense. Already makes me not wanna see it. Want nothing to do with the little mermaid. Just going too far for no reason makes no point. It’s not the character Already gonna make a lot of people annoyed and continue to make a divide between people.