In a new trailer for Disney’s live-action “Peter Pan & Wendy”, the character Tinkerbell is played by a black actress, leading to controversial reactions.
In early 2023, Disney continues to introduce new live-action projects, which are adapted from the company’s classic animations. On February 28th (local time), the trailer for “Peter Pan & Wendy” was revealed, but both main characters were ignored as netizens directed their attention to actress Yara Shahidi, who plays Tinkerbell, instead.
Since the Tinkerbell character in previous animations has blonde hair and white skin, many netizens expressed their ire towards Disney’s casting of a black actress, claiming that the company is actively “ruining their childhood” and “trying to force diversity” into live action works.
In particular, comments such as, “Give me back the Tinkerbell of my childhood”, “If you truly respect people of color, make works that focus on people of colors, instead of changing the skin color of existing characters”, “There are many great works that focus on people of color, such as ‘Get Out’, so I can’t fathom these changes”, “Disney need to stop forcing diversity into existing characters”, and so on, can be found across the net.
Previously, the Disney live action “The Little Mermaid” also received heavy criticisms after black actress Halle Bailey was revealed to be playing the female lead, mermaid Ariel.
It is known that alongside the new “black Tinkerbell”, “Peter Pan & Wendy” also show several other differences compared to the original franchise, from changing the “Lost Boys” into “Lost Girls” to boasting a more racially diverse cast lineup.
On the other hand, “Peter Pan & Wendy” revolves around the main character, Peter Pan, who lives in “Neverland” and refuses to grow up. One day, Peter brought normal girl Wendy to his magical land, and they ended up going head to head against the evil pirate, Captain Hook.
“Peter Pan & Wendy”, which is directed by David Lowery, features Alexander Molony as Peter Pan, Ever Anderson as Wendy, and Jude Law as Captain Hook. Other cast members include Joshua Pickering, Jacobi Jupe, Jim Gaffigan, Noah Matthews Matofsky, Sebastian Billingsley-Rodriguez, Alyssa Wapanatâhk, Felix de Sousa, Molly Parker, Alan Tudyk, Diana Tsoy, Caelan Edie, Florence Bensberg, and more.
On the other hand, “Peter Pan & Wendy” is scheduled for release on April 28th on OTT platform Disney+.
Source: k14
