Yara Shahidi took to Instagram this weekend to confirm that she will play Tinkerbell in the upcoming live-action remake of Peter Pan and Wendy. The 20-year-old actress joins a cast that features Jude Law as Captain Hook, with Alexander Molony as Peter Pan and Ever Anderson as Wendy.
“Lettssssgooooo,” she wrote on Instagram, using the hashtag #Tinkerbell.
This marks the first time a black woman has played the role that traditionally has featured a white actress. The movie follows in the footsteps of The Little Mermaid, of which Disney cast Halle Bailey to play Ariel in.
we’re getting yara shahidi as tinkerbell AND halle bailey as ariel???? THIS IS WHAT I LIKE TO SEE
black women: WINNING.
racists: mad. pic.twitter.com/SJEwLQmZFU— y (@softlydayas) September 25, 2020
Yara is best known for her starring role on ABC’s Black-ish, as well as being a star and producer of Freeform’s Grown-ish.
Disney’s 1953 animated classic is still the most successful adaptation of the J.M. Barrie novel about Peter Pan, the boy from Neverland who doesn’t grow up. There have been a number of spin-off movies, including Steven Spielberg’s Hook starring Robin Williams and Joe Wright’s Pan, both of which disappointed at the box office.