Warner Bros. has found its Peter Pan and Tiger Lily. The casting ensemble is coming along nicely with the addition of “Terra Nova” star Levi Miller who is set to take on the role as the titular character; and “The girl with the dragon tattoo” actress Rooney Mara will portray Tiger Lily. The anticipated flick has been the talk of the town since Hugh Jackman signed on to portray the infamous Blackbeard back in January. Rooney Mara’s announcement on the other hand was received with negativity. Fans are complaining that the role should be given to a real Native American actress. Thousands have taken to a Care2 petition to “protest the choice of a white actress for the Native American role”. More than 6068 signatures, out of their stated 7,000 goal, have been received.
Levi Miller and Rooney Mara
The petition reads:
Warner Bros. just announced Rooney Mara has been chosen to play the role of Tiger Lily, a Native American, in a Peter Pan adaptation. A statement by the studio was unapologetic, and said a black actress and a French actress were first considered for the role. This casting choice is particularly shameful for a children’s movie. Telling children their role models must all be white is unacceptable.
The studio statement mentioned, “The world being created is multi-racial/international – and a very different character than previously imagined.” Yet it stars Mara and two white guys – Hugh Jackman and Garrett Hedlund. Not so multi-racial after all, Warner Bros.
Tell Warner Bros. to stop casting white actors to play characters originally written as people of color!
Garrett Hedlund is expected to play Hook and Adeel Akhtar set to play Smee. The film that will focus on the untold origin story of Peter Pan is set to be released on July 17, 2015. The story will be set during World War II when Peter Pan was kidnapped by pirates and brought to Neverland.
Source: Variety.com
