Disney's live-action 'Peter Pan' casts Yara Shahidi as Tinker Bell: report
The star is the latest 'Grown-ish' actress to take on a role for Disney that has previously been played by white women
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Disney reportedly cast "Grown-ish" star Yara Shahidi to play Tinker Bell in its upcoming live-action adaptation of "Peter Pan."
The film will be called "Peter Pan and Wendy" and is set to be directed by David Lowery ("Pete's Dragon," "The Old Man & the Gun").
Deadline reported the news of Shahidi's casting, and also reports that Jude Law will play Captain Hook.
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The titular roles will be portrayed by Alexander Molony and Ever Anderson, respectively.
Per the outlet, "Peter Pan and Wendy" will mark the first time a woman of color has played the character of Tinker Bell in a major production, similar to Halle Bailey's casting as Ariel in the upcoming "Little Mermaid."
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The character was portrayed as white in the original 1953 animated classic and has been played by the likes of Julia Roberts, Keira Knightley and Paloma Faith.
The 20-year-old actress seemingly confirmed the news on Instagram Friday, sharing a picture of Tinker Bell drawn as a Black woman.
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"Thank you for all of the love. It, truly, means so much to me," she wrote in the caption. "I’m excited for this next adventure!"
She also shared a photo of herself dressed in green and wrote, "lettssssgooooo #Tinkerbell."
Yara Shahidi will play Tinker Bell in the upcoming 'Peter Pan and Wendy.' (Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/FilmMagic)
Shahidi, 20, is best known for her role in ABC's "Black-ish," which led to her successful Freeform spin-off "Grown-ish," which follows her character, Zoey Johnson, as she heads off to college. Coincidentally, Bailey plays a supporting role in the same show.
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The star led the film "The Sun Is also a Star" in 2019 as well.
No release date has been announced, but Deadline reports that it will likely be a theatrical release, rather than head straight to Disney+.
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Reps for Shahidi and Disney did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment.