Hey, Hollywood. Did you learn nothing from Warner Bros. box-office bomb Pan? The answer is clear, because now we’ve got news of yet another Peter Pan adaptation. This time, it will be a live-action entry from Disney, the studio that made the iconic animated version of J.M. Barrie’s tale, back in 1953.
The most interesting part of this news is the director: David Lowry, who also co-wrote and directed the upcoming Pete’s Dragon reboot for the studio. But before that, he rose to fame on the strength of his visually stunning indie drama Ain’t Them Bodies Saints.
Along with the new version of The Jungle Book, this latest Peter Pan project is just another part of a burgeoning trend in Disney’s live-action sector. As Deadline, which broke the Lowry news, points out:
The division has a Tim Burton-directed Dumbo percolating, and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, which directors Joachin Ronning and Espen Sanberg have wrapped. Percolating is the James Bobin-directed sequel Alice Through the Looking Glass, a Mary Poppins sequel with Rob Marshall directing Emily Blunt and Hamilton’s Lin Manuel Miranda, the Bill Condon-directed Beauty and the Beast with Emma Watson, Angelina Jolie in Maleficent 2, Emma Stone set for Cruella De Ville, Dwayne Johnson attached to Jungle Cruise, James Mangold developing Captain Nemo, Ehren Kruger developing Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, with a version of Tower of Terror based on a John August idea. There is also Tinkerbell, which has Reese Witherspoon attached. Latter film is on track to happen before Peter Pan, and it is possible that there could be some crossover cast.
Well. At least Mr Toad’s Wild Ride — based on the cult-favourite Disneyland ride, from the guy who wrote The Ring and the Transformers sequels — could actually be kind of amazing, no?