After tackling a reboot of Pete’s Dragon, director David Lowery has been shooting a new Disney film with Peter Pan & Wendy. Based on both the original novel and the beloved animated film that was released back in 1953. 

While speaking with Collider, David Lowery mentioned he understands that he’s making a new generation’s Peter Pan movie and is aiming to make the best version he can that will appeal to both children and adults alike. 

“It’ll be an entire generation’s first Peter Pan movie, and that’s something I don’t take lightly. I want this to be a movie that is important to the children who see [it],” said Lowery. “And I want to make a movie that will matter… that the kids will look back on fondly and think that they got something from it, that they learned something from it, that it mattered to them. And I hope that adults will feel the same way, because as someone who is just now finally feeling comfortable with calling myself an adult, I think there’s a lot of valuable material that we’ve pulled from the source, from the text,” Lowery told Collider. 

The filmmaker also mentions while they’ll be true to the book and using things from the original animated film, he alludes to them ignoring the racist stuff concerning the Native American characters and the notorious musical number What Makes The Red Man Red?. The film being released in the 1950s didn’t have the Native community or sensitivity in mind when making that “creative choice.”

“…Very true to the original book and to the elements of the Disney movie that we can adapt. Obviously, there’s a lot of things about the animated film that you’re just going to leave to the darker side of history, but we’re not reinventing the tale. But I hope that we are illuminating it and making it a movie of great import.”

The cast includes Alexander Molony as Peter, Black Widow’s Ever Anderson as Wendy, Jude Law as Captain Hook, Jim Gaffigan as Mr. Smee, and Yara Shahidi as Tinker Bell.

Peter Pan & Wendy will hit Disney+ sometime next year.

David Lowery’s next release will be The Green Knight (not for kids), as it’s still set to head to domestic theaters on July 30, while it recently had its United Kingdom date pulled due to increased COVID cases. The film is an R-rated take on one of the many Arthurian legends, oddly enough, one that J.R.R. Tolkien wrote about. 

THE GREEN KNIGHT -An epic fantasy adventure based on the timeless Arthurian legend, The Green Knight tells the story of Sir Gawain (Dev Patel), King Arthur’s reckless and headstrong nephew, who embarks on a daring quest to confront the eponymous Green Knight, a gigantic emerald-skinned stranger, and tester of men. Gawain contends with ghosts, giants, thieves, and schemers in what becomes a deeper journey to define his character and prove his worth in the eyes of his family and kingdom by facing the ultimate challenger. From visionary filmmaker David Lowery comes a fresh and bold spin on a classic tale from the knights of the round table.

SOURCE: COLLIDER