With the future of theaters uncertain, more and more upcoming theatrical releases are headed to streaming platforms sooner than anticipated. Disney announced that two of its live-action remakes will be Disney Plus originals instead of theatrical releases.
The upcoming remakes of Peter Pan and Pinocchio will join recent live-action translations of Lady and the Tramp and Mulan and debut on the streaming service. While Lady and the Tramp was always envisioned as a Disney Plus original, the Mulan remake was set for the big screen before the coronavirus pandemic.
Peter Pan & Wendy will be flying to #DisneyPlus. David Lowery directs an amazing cast including @YaraShahidi in the role of Tinker Bell and Jude Law as Captain Hook. pic.twitter.com/U8tWoxxSOk
— Walt Disney Studios (@DisneyStudios) December 11, 2020
The Peter Pan remake is titled Peter Pan and Wendy and stars newcomers Ever Anderson (daughter of Milla Jovovich and her Monster Hunter director Paul W.S. Anderson, who plays a young Natasha Romanoff in Black Widow) and Alexander Moloney. Yara Shahidi of Blackish is set to play Tinker Bell.
The Pinocchio remake — not to be confused with Guillermo Del Toro’s Netflix project — stars Tom Hanks as Geppetto and Alan Cumming as Honest John, and is directed by Robert Zemeckis.
There were no official release dates, but both were described as being early in production, and would only arrive in 2022 at the earliest.