Disney’s newest live-action remake has found its main cast – newcomers Alexander Molony and Ever Anderson have been cast as Peter Pan and Wendy in the upcoming film with the less-than-catchy name Peter Pan & Wendy. These will be the largest roles for Molony and Anderson so far, although Molony does have one other Disney credit under his belt, having lent his voice in the animated Disney Junior series Claude. Anderson’s biggest credit to date is playing a younger version of her mother, Milla Jovovich, in Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, and audiences will soon see her in Marvel’s Black Widow as a young Scarlett Johansson. Peter Pan & Wendy is directed by David Lowery (Pete’s Dragon, A Ghost Story), who has co-written the script alongside Toby Halbrooks (Pete’s Dragon, A Ghost Story).
The original novel that inspired Disney’s animated adaptation was written by J.M. Barrie, who died in 1937, having never seen the character of Peter Pan brought to life on the big screen. Disney’s animated Peter Pan tells the story of young Wendy and her little brothers, who are whisked away to the magical island of Neverland, where children are forever young, by a mythical rascal by the name of Peter Pan. Since the film’s release in 1953, there have been a myriad of remakes and spinoffs featuring the eternally ageless, elfin boy. Now, the story is next in line as part of Disney’s mission to remake all its animated classics into live-action films, bringing them to a new era of fans. It will be interesting to see how this new take revises and omits some of the film’s less tasteful scenes, such as the ‘Red Indians’ the Lost Boys encounter.
While there’s been no news on what form exactly this revamped story will take, Jim Whitaker, the producer of Peter Pan & Wendy spoke to Comic Book, saying:
“I would say some of the tenets of [David Lowery’s] great work is a kind of grounded emotionality. And I think that’s at least one part of what you can expect. But it’ll be a big, rollicking adventure, too.”
It is as yet unconfirmed whether Peter Pan & Wendy will only be released on Disney Plus, à la Lady and the Tramp. However, Variety reported that ‘sources’ revealed the release is ‘expected to be theatrical’.
Mulan was Disney’s next live-action remake to hit the big screen, slated for release on March 27th, but has been postponed due to the current CoViD-19 pandemic. As of yet, there has been no slated release date for Peter Pan & Wendy, but filming was due to begin in Canada in April, though this too may be pushed back in the current climate.
