Director Joe Wright has signed on to direct a new ‘Peter Pan’ origin movie for Warner Brothers. Greg Berlanti (TV’s ‘Arrow’) is producing the movie, and the script is by Jason Fuchs. Fuchs previously scripted ‘Ice Age: Continental Drift’. The project is being overseen by Sarah Schechter and is apparently very high on Warner Brothers’ priority list.
Wright is most noted for his sweeping romantic dramas like ‘Atonement’, ‘Anna Karinina’ and ‘Pride and Prejudice’ all of which starred Kiera Knightly. These romances were all tinged with tragedy which could make Wright a perfect fit for a ‘Peter Pan’ film, considering the original tale also had a bittersweet sting to it, as THR reported, dealing with “the loss of innocence, childhood versus adulthood, parental abandonment, immortality. And the fantasy element can be dialed up or down as much as the storyteller wants.” The director also directed the experimental action movie ‘Hanna’ starring Saoirse Ronan. (Incidentally, Wright is also developing a live-action ‘Little Mermaid’ project.)
The story and characters have been brought to film numerous times, most famously in the animated Disney classic. (The first time an actual boy played the role. On stage and in prior filmed versions, the role was embodied by adult women.)
This will apparently not be the last time, as Columbia is developing its own project, with the working title ‘Neverland’ (formerly titled ‘Pan’) with Channing Tatum and Joe Roth producing. And Disney is actually adapting the YA novel ‘Peter and the Starcatchers’ with Gary Ross (‘The Hunger Games’) attached to direct.
Is three too many? Certain other fantasy classics have stumbled at the box office in recent years (‘Alice In Wonderland’, ‘Oz The Great And Powerful’). Can Peter soar above them all?
Since the projects are still developing, there’s not much known about the tones these films will take, whether they will be more realistic or embrace the fantasy. But at this point, which of these projects sounds most appealing to you?
