Following multiple adaptations of JM Barrie’s 1911 play-turned-novel, Peter Pan & Wendy, Disney is set to bring their live-action take to the masses next month. After the project was first rumored to be in development in 2016, the house of mouse released the first glimpse of this upcoming live-action fantasy film at their 2022 convention, D23.
Now, the studio has finally dropped the first official trailer of Peter Pan & Wendy, which is set to release on Disney Plus by the end of next month. This live-action project will serve as a remake of Disney’s 1953 animated classic, Peter Pan.
The studio has spawned multiple projects of the original animated film, including direct sequels and Tinker Bell spinoffs in a somewhat shared continuity. However, contrary to popular belief, the upcoming live-action Disney Plus film is only the third main project with Peter Pan as one of the primary protagonists, following their 1953 animated film and its 2002 sequel, Peter Pan Return to Never Land.
Peter Pan & Wendy Release Date, Plot, And Cast Details
Interestingly, the project is helmed by David Lowey (director, The Green Knight), who also directed the 2016 live-action remake of Pete’s Dragon for Disney.
Like his previous project with Disney, David Lowery co-wrote the screenplay for Peter Pan & Wendy with his longtime collaborator, Toby Halbrooks. According to the original Disney Plus listing of the film, it will be produced by Jim Whitaker, who previously served as a producer for A Wrinkle in Time (2018), and Pete’s Dragon (2016).
Release Date And Where To Watch
After being in development for around seven years, Peter Pan & Wendy is set to release straight on Disney Plus on Friday, April 28, 2023. Since the project was initially greenlit way back in 2016, the film was planned as a theatrical release. However, to no one’s surprise, the project’s production was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, which is likely why the project was shifted to a streaming-only release.
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Plot Details
The film’s plot is expected to be quite similar to the original play-turned-novel and the 1953 animated adaptation by Disney. This is evident by the official synopsis by Disney Plus, which reads: ‘Peter Pan & Wendy‘ introduces Wendy Darling, a young girl afraid to leave her childhood home behind, who meets Peter Pan, a boy who refuses to grow up.”
The synopsis further added: “Alongside her (Wendy) brothers and a tiny fairy, Tinker Bell, she travels with Peter to the magical world of Neverland. There, she encounters an evil pirate captain, Captain Hook, and embarks on a thrilling and dangerous adventure that will change her life forever.” This suggests that the live-action adaptation may not change much from the novel or the animated films, which may result in slight controversy, as is common for most of Disney’s live-action remakes.
Unfortunately, even director David Lowery has been quite tight-lipped on whether the screenplay will include some fresh creative changes. In his 2021 statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Lowery mentioned how he left out certain aspects of the story from JM Barrie’s original novel as the filmmaker could not surpass the approach of Steven Spielberg’s 1991 live-action Peter Pan film, Hook.
Lowery added: “I am very happy that my movie will be the Peter Pan that an entire generation of children are introduced to and that it will be the vehicle for them to be introduced to this legend. But I also know that this won’t be the last Peter Pan movie. So all I can do is try to do justice to it and treat it with the respect it deserves…”
Now, it remains to be seen if the film will contain enough uniqueness to stand apart from the other adaptations.
Main Cast
The film will star newcomer Alexander Molony and Milla Jovovich’s daughter Ever Anderson (Black Widow) in the titular roles of Peter and Wendy, respectively. The rest of the main cast includes:
Jude Law (Captain Hook)
Yara Shahidi (Tinker Bell)
Alyssa Wapanatâhk (Tiger Lily)
Joshua Pickering (John Darling)
Jacobi Jupe (Michael Darling)
Molly Parker (Mary Darling)
Alan Tudyk (George Darling)
Jim Gaffigan (Smee)
Though the film has garnered over a million views on its first trailer within the first two days, this merely translates to a lukewarm response over its release. Thus, whether Peter Pan & Wendy will be immune to the appalling critical reception of Disney’s recent live-action remakes like 2022’s Pinocchio remains amorphous.
