With Batman vs. Superman now pushed off until 2016, Warner Bros. is betting on Atonement director Joe Wright’s gritty Peter Pan reimagining, simply titled Pan, to make big bucks at the 2015 summer box office. The studio is understandably keen to assemble the fantasy film’s cast so that cameras can get rolling sooner rather than later, and it looks like Wright has just committed to an actor for one of Pan‘s lead roles as Garrett Hedlund has been officially offered the part of Captain Hook.
Pan is an origin story, so when Wright’s film starts out, Peter Pan (still uncast) and Hook are actually friends, with Hook working on the crew of a pirate ship belonging to the fearsome Blackbeard. Hugh Jackman was linked to the role of the notoriously cruel pirate last December after Javier Bardem passed on it.
In the script, penned by Ice Age: Continental Drift writer Jason Fuchs, Peter is an orphan who, once taken to the magic world of Neverland, becomes a hero to the natives and leads a fierce rebellion against pirates marauding the island. Wright previously announced his intention to make the film a darker, moodier take on the Peter Pan legend, though the film’s planned summer release, in 3D no less, suggests that Warner Bros. may also be pushing for Pan to turn out as more of a crowd-pleaser.
No news out of Hedlund’s camp yet, though it’s hard to imagine a talented up-and-comer like him turning down a huge role in such a buzzy project. Hedlund previously led Disney’s Tron: Legacy to blockbuster success and has received praise for his parts in smaller films like Country Strong, On the Road and Inside Llewyn Davis.
Wright is currently looking to cast someone as the title character, and the director is also searching for an actress in her twenties to portray Tiger Lily.
The film is still a long way off, but Wright’s visual flair, coupled with a sure-to-be strong cast, is already making a good case for Pan being one of my most anticipated movies of 2015.
Tell us, what do you think of the casting? Is Pan on your watchlist, or are you sick of all these fairy tale ‘reimaginings’?
Pan hits theaters in 3D on June 16, 2015.