Disney's Peter Pan and Wendy from David Lowry

[Kahran Ramsus]

Are we sure he's in Peter Pan and not a Deadwood revival?

 

[Albright]

I wonder if that new Neverland in Tokio Disney land is inspired by the original or this new one from the live action movie

 

[Albright]

 

[Pennywise]

Director David Lowery on The Green Knight’s Eerie Influences

For his next project Lowery will be tackling another oft-told story: J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, for Disney’s upcoming Peter Pan & Wendy.The film stars Jude Law as Captain Hook, Yara Shahidi as Tinkerbell, and Ever Anderson—recently seen as young Natasha in Black Widow—as Wendy. “I know people will be like, Oh, great, another Peter Pan movie,” Lowery says. “I know; I feel the same way.” Still, he says: “It’s my favorite thing I’ve made so far.”

This is Lowery’s second outing remaking a beloved Disney film, and his profoundly emotional Pete’s Dragon, though not a huge commercial hit, is often praised by critics as the best of the recent remake craze. His Pan, he says, won’t deviate too far from either the Barrie play or the Disney cartoon.

Lowery calls his take on Barrie’s boy who wouldn’t grow up his “most mature” film yet—a fitting coda to his journey with Gawain. “This is the movie that I’m making in which I’m finally embracing adulthood,” he says. “You don’t have to be revisionist with it—you just try to deepen it and illuminate it, and that’s what I do with The Green Knight. There’s lots of, you know, flying and sword fighting and swashbuckling, but there’s emotional stuff going on in this movie that I think I wouldn’t have been able to do had I not made The Green Knight.”

 

[Albright]

sounds great to me

 

[Doctor Jones]

Wait, this is a David Lowry film?

 

[Brother Jack]

Lowery is the reason I'm excited for this. I hope Disney is allowing him to make it his own.

 

[Pennywise]

David Lowery Explains Why 'Peter Pan and Wendy' Is His Favorite Thing He's Ever Made

In a recent interview with Collider, Lowery explained his approach to adapting J.M. Barrie's beloved story and why Peter Pan and Wendy turned out to be his favorite of all his films, even though it's still in production.

"I think, personally speaking, it's my favorite thing I've ever made, which I wasn't expecting going into it, but it is. I've never been as in love with a movie as I am with this one. We've got a couple of weeks left to go and I just love this movie. It's the most personal thing I've ever made," said Lowery, who had just finished day 91 of shooting when he spoke with Collider.

The film forced Lowery to confront his own Peter Pan complex, which is something I imagine many filmmakers grapple with over the course of their careers.

"It is, ironically, the most adult movie I've ever made. I went into it thinking that my entryway into this movie was that I've got a classic case of Peter Pan syndrome. I don't want to grow up. Who does? And I thought that was what was going to appeal to me about it, but in making it, in writing it, and now directing it and seeing it come to life, I've realized that this is a movie about me letting go of that. Whether that's good or bad, I haven't processed yet, but it's the first movie I've made from an adult perspective, if that makes any sense."

Lowery said it's important to him that Peter Pan and Wendy feels important to young audiences as a new generation discovers this timeless tale for the first time.

"It'll be an entire generation's first Peter Pan movie, and that's something I don't take lightly. I want this to be a movie that is important to the children who see [it]," said Lowery. "And I want to make a movie that will matter... that the kids will look back on fondly and think that they got something from it, that they learned something from it, that it mattered to them. And I hope that adults will feel the same way, because as someone who is just now finally feeling comfortable with calling myself an adult, I think there's a lot of valuable material that we've pulled from the source, from the text."

Lowery said the film is "very true to the original book and to the elements of the Disney movie that we can adapt. Obviously, there's a lot of things about the animated film that you're just going to leave to the darker side of history, but we're not reinventing the tale. But I hope that we are illuminating it and making it a movie of great import."

The director knows he isn't the first to tackle Peter Pan and that he surely won't be the last either, but he's excited for his version to exist as its own thing.

"Peter Pan's an evergreen property. It's something that will be remade and retold for the rest of time. This version of it will be... it's my version of it. It's the version that for the next 10 years will probably be the one that kids watch for the first time until it gets remade again," said Lowery. "I've said it already, I'm just in love with this movie, and I really am excited to show it to people."

 

[DarkKnight88]

I’m just curious how different this could be from the 2003 version which was very faithful to the book. What aspects from the Disney animated film are completely unique to it, other than the songs.

And he said he’s not reinventing it so we won’t be getting a Pan situation.

I thought at first he would update the real world scenes with the family to present day, but it looks like he’s staying to the original period setting.

 

[Doctor Jones]

The fact Lowry is directing this and him talking about it like that makes me interested in this movie. Pete's Dragon is one of the few good modern Disney remakes that isn't disposable.

 

[Lily Adler]

The fact Lowry is directing this and him talking about it like that makes me interested in this movie. Pete's Dragon is one of the few good modern Disney remakes that isn't disposable.

Holy crap I forgot they made a Pete's Dragon remake AND it was better received than the original movie.

 

[Doctor Jones]

It's pretty overlooked but it's solid and there's some love and care put into it. You can tell Lowry took something and put his own spin on it artistically. It's actually really good!

 

[Lily Adler]

It's pretty overlooked but it's solid and there's some love and care put into it. You can tell Lowry took something and put his own spin on it artistically. It's actually really good!

Thank the Mouse for Disney+.

 

[Pennywise]

‘The Green Knight’ Filmmaker David Lowery on the “Nightmare” Shoot and ‘Peter Pan & Wendy’

I really appreciate how you bounce back and forth between a major studio like Disney and an indie studio like A24. Is this by design a la “one for them, one for me”? Or do you just follow the stories you want to tell, wherever they may lead you?


I follow the stories I want to tell, first and foremost. I won’t make a film if it’s not something I want to make. But it is certainly a bizarre twist of fate that the two studios that have emboldened me to make the most personal films in my career are A24 and Disney. That’s not something I would’ve expected, nor is it something that I think is explicable. I just don’t know how to explain that. But both studios have allowed me to express myself to the fullest, and they trust me in a way that I don’t take lightly. They support me in a way that I am incredibly grateful for, and the movies I make under both of their roofs are the ones that are dearest to my heart. I’m currently in production on Peter Pan & Wendy, and in so many ways, it will make a remarkable companion piece to The Green Knight. And it’s no less personal, no less strange, no less a film that bears my imprint than The Green Knight, even though it is representative of everything that a Disney film needs to be at the same time. So I feel very lucky to be in this position where I get to make movies that matter to me at both ends of the spectrum and that I can let them sit alongside each other. Everything that I can bring to the table as a filmmaker is alive and well in the films that I make for both A24 and for Disney. So I feel very grateful that I am able to do that.



Well, I really hope that Peter Pan & Wendy becomes this generation’s definitive Peter Pan movie, much like Hook was for mine. That said, I was pretty shocked when I eventually discovered that Hookwasn’t as universally beloved as my childhood bubble thought it was. So where do you stand on Hook?


I still love it. I think you and I are probably of that generation where it’s impossible not to love it. And if you hear the word “bangarang,” your eyes are going to light up. (Laughs.) But I can certainly look at it as an adult and imagine what it was like for my parents to endure that movie, perhaps. (Laughs.) So I don’t think my parents were fans of it. They weren’t fans of a lot of the movies I loved as a child, but I still love those movies now. And there are things in that movie that are as good as they’re ever going to get when it comes to a Peter Pan adaptation. And there are things that I love about J.M. Barrie’s novel that I had to leave out of my screenplay because I couldn’t do them better than Steven Spielberg did. And frankly, there’s a lot of things I can’t do better than Steven Spielberg could. (Laughs.) But there are scenes in Hook that are truly beautiful. And in spite of whatever criticisms people may level against that movie — including the criticisms that Spielberg, himself, has — there is some truly wonderful material in that movie, and it remains dear to my heart and probably always will. So I don’t seek to supplant it, nor do I seek to supplant any other Peter Pan adaptation. It is a work that is evergreen for a reason. So I am very happy that my movie will be the Peter Pan that an entire generation of children are introduced to and that it will be the vehicle for them to be introduced to this legend. But I also know that this won’t be the last Peter Pan movie. There will be another one further down the line, that will have its own value, and there will be children who love that one more than mine. And that’s wonderful. That’s what I love about making movies like this. And The Green Knight is similar. The Green Knight is an evergreen property. It’s not as well known as Peter Pan, perhaps, but it’s a work that has stood the test of time. So all I can do is try to do justice to it and treat it with the respect it deserves; I’m speaking both of The Green Knight and of Peter Pan & Wendy when I talk about this. And then one of things I can do is try to illuminate it with some degree of my own perspective. I can try to bring my own perspective to it and I can try to illuminate it in a way that hasn’t been done before. This is the one chance I have to tell this story, and I’m going to give it my all and make it as personal as I possibly can. But no matter how personal they get, they are still works that will withstand not just the test of time, but they’ll withstand me and whatever I try to do with them. So I look forward to seeing more Peter Pan films in the future, and frankly, I would love to see someone else tackle The Green Knight at some point, though hopefully they give me some breathing room. (Laughs.)

 

[TeeKay]

Wait there's a new Peter Pan movie coming out?

 

[MOVIELORD101]

Wait there's a new Peter Pan movie coming out?

Yeah. What do you think this thread's about?

 

[Kane52630]

Lowery mentioned in this interview that it's the most adult film he's made which is wild to me.

Movie Swap: ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’ and ‘Titanic.’ Plus: ‘The Green Knight’!

 

[Pennywise]

David Lowery Says 'The Green Knight' and Disney Remake 'Peter Pan and Wendy' Are 'Sibling' Films

Lowery said he filmed “The Green Knight” and “Peter Pan” nearly back to back, and while the two movies have completely different audiences, with heavy and surreal material in “The Green Knight” he’d never put into a Disney film, he can’t help but note the similarities.

“I think to date, ‘A Ghost Story’ and ‘Pete’s Dragon’ are my two favorite of my feature films, and they feel like siblings to me,” he said. “I can’t help but feel they’re very similar, and I can’t help but suspect that ‘Green Knight’ and ‘Peter Pan and Wendy’ will be another pair of siblings with a lot in common.”

He even teased that “Peter Pan and Wendy” will have an Easter Egg calling back to “The Green Knight,” with Lowery secretly sneaking the knight’s character design into the Disney film.

But he called making “The Green Knight” back to back with “Peter Pan and Wendy” an “enriching experience” that helped make the films feel similar, even if not in tone.

“I think ‘Peter Pan and Wendy’ is the happiest I’ve ever been on a set because when you’re making a movie like that, the ultimate goal is to bring joy, so there’s a lot of joy going into it,” he said. “‘Green Knight’ was a lot of fun and we laughed a lot, but it wasn’t quite as joyful as you can imagine. There were some pretty dark days on set where we all left pretty somewhat woeful due to the subject matter and the images we were capturing.”

 

[Pennywise]

Yara Shahidi on Bonding With Halle Bailey Over Being Disney Film Stars

Yara Shahidi is getting the best preparation for her role as Tinkerbell, thanks to her Grown-ish co-star, Halle Bailey!

The 21-year-old actress chatted with ET's Leanne Aguilera about her transformation for Disney's upcoming live-action Peter Pan and Wendy film and said, although Bailey hasn't let anything slip about her work as Ariel in the studio's live-action Little Mermaid, the two have spoken about their respective roles in the upcoming Disney films.

"We've talked about how crazy the motion capture process is of playing characters where it's your real-life expression but so much of it is digitized and it's such a crazy experience," Shahidi shared, adding that she admires the other actress. "But other than the logistics of it -- she isn't the weakest link and she's not going to let any of us know what is happening in The Little Mermaid. I just love whenever we get to hear updates and, like, she is killing it."

Peter Pan and Wendy hails from director David Lowery (Pete's Dragon) and stars newcomers Alexander Molony and Ever Anderson as the titular duo alongside Jude Law as Captain Hook.

Shahidi shared that production for the film is already underway, noting that "it's been really fun bringing that to life and pretending to be five inches tall."

 

[Pennywise]

Peter Pan & Wendy Director Pitched Movie as "The Revenant With Flying Kids"

"I hesitate to use the word grounded because it has fairies and flying children in it," Lowery revealed to The Kingcast podcast. "But when I went to talk to the studio about it I was like 'What if we stay true to the original material, remove the problematic elements of both the novel and the animated film of course, but then treat it like The Revenant. What if we made The Revenant with flying kids?' And they were into it. It’s not 100% like that but it’s sort of the ethos by which we’ve gone about making it....That was sort of the idea, have it be visceral, have it be grounded, it’s still joyful, it’s still full of exuberance and magic, so that’s why I don’t like to use the word ‘grounded.’

Lowery revealed that the film might be the first Peter Pan movie to be shot on location as opposed to sound stages, noting that coincidentally much of the crew of The Revenant are also working on Peter Pan & Wendy as both were shot in Vancouver. He opened up further on his take on the material and how he came to it, teasing some pretty gruesome elements.

"Well you can’t see the video but I currently have sitting next to me a skeleton of a lost boy that didn’t make it," the filmmaker added. "The weirdest thing about it is that when Disney brought it to me and asked me if I’d be interested in doing it, I had the same response which is that it feels like it’s been done a lot before. Do we need another Peter Pan film?... But then I started to think about what it means to me and I just got personally invested in it and so all I can say is I’m bringing my own perspective to it and in doing so I realized it might be the most grown-up movie I’ve ever made, in terms of the way it’s approaching its themes, ironically being about a kid that doesn’t want to grow up. It’s a very mature take on the material and obviously we’re still shooting it so hopefully I don’t realize I’ve gone down the wrong path and change everything in the edit."

He continued, "That in and of itself is interesting to me, hopefully it’s interesting to others, but then I also really believe this to be true, it’s an evergreen property. Like Robin Hood, like Dracula, there will be more Peter Pan films in the future, but for one specific generation this will be their first one, and I want to make it the best version I can for that audience, for those viewers, for those people who will be introduced to a time honored legend vis-a-vie this movie, and that’s really important to me."

 

[CaptainWagner]

I'm loving everything I hear about this, but Disney being Disney is still keeping my expectations in check. I really so hope it lives up to its potential, though.

 

[Pennywise]

I'm loving everything I hear about this, but Disney being Disney is still keeping my expectations in check. I really so hope it lives up to its potential, though.

I have faith!

 

[Albright]

I hope, they‘re keeping the tropical locations. This was the thing, I was looking forward the most: the magical landscapes of the animated movie in live action

 

[Pennywise]

 

[Kane52630]

Oh hell yeah.