What started out as casting rumors pinning Hugh Jackman as Blackbeard in the anticipated “Pan” project, lead to his official casting just weeks after the breaking news, and now an official first pic emerges of the 45-year-old actor as the villainous pirate. “The Wolverine” star can be seen in the pic sporting a shaved head and bushy goatee for the upcoming Peter Pan movie. The picture made its way online via Jackman’s Instagram account, giving fans a glimpse of his transformation. “Blackbeard is born,” the Australian actor captioned the photo.

Jackman is joined by Levi Miller as Pan, Amanda Seyfried as Wendy Darling’s mother, Rooney Mara as Tiger Lily and Garrett Hedlund as Captain Hook. “Hanna” director Joe Wright will serve behind the lens, with a script penned by Jason Fuchs. Greg Berlanti is producing under his Berlanti Productions banner while Sarah Schechter will oversee for the studio. The story is set during WWII and ‘follows an orphan who is kidnapped by pirates and brought to Neverland, where he discovers he’s destined to save the land from the pirate Blackbeard’.

The film is set to be released on July 17, 2015.

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