Yara Shahidi has been tapped to play Tinkerbell in Disney’s upcoming live-action Peter Pan film from David Lowery, titled Peter Pan and Wendy. 

Deadline first broke the news. Shahidi will be the first person of color to be in the role. It follows a precedent that Disney started when casting Halle Bailey as the first Black actress to play Ariel in the upcoming The Little Mermaid film.  Like The Little Mermaid, the casting of these roles was not limited to just white actors.

She joins Jude Law, who will play Captain Hook, and Alexander Molony and Ever Anderson, who will play Peter Pan and Wendy.

Lowery reportedly wanted to cast an actress of color and took a quick interest in Shahidi, who is known for starring in the black-ish franchise, including grown-ish, which she leads. Shahidi is also a producer behind the scenes and just inked an overall deal at ABC Signature Studios. Her first major film role was in The Sun is Also a Star, opposite Charles Melton.

The script was co-written by Lowery and Toby Halbrooks. Several live-action Peter Pan stories have made it ot the big and small screens, but this is the first time that Disney will have one.

 

Photo: Getty/Disney