Anna Daniels
Disney has found its Peter Pan and Wendy. Newcomers Alexander Molony and Ever Anderson have been cast as Peter and Wendy, respectively, in Disney’s live-action Peter Pan remake, titled Peter Pan & Wendy. The pair will be the latest to take on the role after a recent resurgence in Peter Pan films, including Benh Zeitlin’s Wendy and Brenda Chapman’s Come Away.
Disney didn’t have to travel to the second star to the left, and straight on ’til morning to find the leads of its Peter Pan live-action film, Peter Pan & Wendy. Variety reports that Disney has cast newcomers Ever Anderson as Wendy and Alexander Molony as Peter Pan in the live-action film directed by Pete’s Dragon director David Lowery. Lowery co-wrote the script with Toby Halbrooks.
Lowery’s take on the classic story will be a remake of the 1953 Disney animated classic, which adapted the J.M. Barrie novel about a boy who wouldn’t grow up. The fairy tale’s place in the public domain means that Disney’s 1953 isn’t the only adaptation of Barrie’s novel — Peter Pan has been reimagined, modernized, and adapted in every shape and form. Some of them have been more successful, like Steven Spielberg’s Hook starring Robin Williams as an older boy wonder, while others have been less so, like Joe Wright’s abysmal 2015 take Pan. However, Disney’s animated film has remained the most celebrated version — though there are underrated takes, like P. J. Hogan’s wonderful 2003 adaptation starring Jason Isaacs.
And the character continues to be reimagined as recently as this year: Beasts of the Southern Wild director Benh Zeitlin took a wild, female-led approach with Wendy, while Brave director Brenda Chapman crafted a fresh fairy tale origin story for the character with Come Away.
Lowery’s more loyal adaptation of the story will reportedly be a “rollicking adventure” with “grounded emotion,” according to his producer Jim Whitaker. As the director with the most successful Disney live-action remake thus far, the acclaimed but sadly underseen Pete’s Dragon, Lowery could be the filmmaker to sprinkle a little fairy dust on this age-old fairy tale.
Cool Posts From Around the Web: Written by: Slash
