It was reported earlier this week that Joe Wright (Hanna, Atonement) was in negotiations to direct a new untitled Peter Pan Origin Film, and now comes word that Warner Bros. is eyeing Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men, Skyfall) for the lead villain role – the pirate Blackbeard.
Jason Fuchs will be providing the screenplay for the adaptation of J.M. Barrie’s classic character with “Arrow” executive producer Greg Berlanti producing under his Berlanti Productions and Sarah Schechter overseeing for Warner Bros.
According to Deadline, Fuchs’ script has an orphan taken to the magical world of Neverland, where he becomes the savior of the natives and leads a rebellion against evil pirates.
The question, of course, is why they are going with Blackbeard and not Hook? Only time will tell.
A similarly-themed “origin story” take on the property is also in the works at Columbia Pictures with Neverland. Among that film’s producers are Channing Tatum and Joe Roth (Alice in Wonderland) with Shattered Glass scribe Billy Ray providing the screenplay.
The story of “Peter Pan” has been adapted on quite a few occasions, including, most famously, a 1953 Disney animated version. Alternate takes on the Barrie story have been offered in cases like Steven Spielberg’s 1991 film Hook, a sequel of sorts to the original tale. The literal origin of “Peter Pan” was also detailed on film in the 2004 biopic of Barrie, Finding Neverland, starring Johnny Depp in the lead.
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