The Zoey Johnson of the ABC sitcom and its spin-off ‘Grown-ish’ is the first actor of color to fill the role that traditionally has featured a white actress.
- Sep 26, 2020
AceShowbiz – Yara Shahidi is about to make magic in her next feature film appearance. The 20-year-old actress has been tapped to play Tinkerbell in Disney’s upcoming live-action remake of its classic animation, “Peter Pan and Wendy“.
This marks the first time ever an actor of color fills the role that traditionally has featured a white actress. It is also the latest of Disney’s efforts to continue representing diversities in its movies after casting Halle Bailey in the lead role of Ariel in upcoming live-action pic “The Little Mermaid (2020)“.
Shahidi will join Jude Law, who is set to take on the role of Captain Hook, Alexander Molony who will portray Peter Pan, and Ever Anderson who has been cast as Wendy. David Lowery, who directed Pete’s Dragon for the studio, is on board to helm “Peter Pan and Wendy”.
Lowery has also co-written the script, which is based on Disney’s 1953 animated movie, along with Toby Halbrooks. Jim Whitaker is producing.
“Peter Pan and Wendy” will be the next of Disney’s live-action remake of its animated classics. The studio recently released Mulan, directed by Niki Caro, on Disney+ due to the coronavirus pandemic, and will be bringing back “The Little Mermaid” on screen with Rob Marshall (“Chicago”, “Mary Poppins Returns“) being attached to direct.
Shahidi gained recognition for her starring role as the oldest daughter Zoey Johnson on ABC’s sitcom “Black-ish“. The popular and critically-acclaimed series has spanned a spin-off, “Grown-ish“, which premiered in 2018 and also stars Shahidi.
The actress’ film credits include “Imagine That” (2009), “Smallfoot” (2018), and the lead role in “The Sun Is Also a Star” (2019). She has also lent her voice for the lead role of Melanie in Netflix’s animated movie “Fearless (2020)“. In 2016, Time magazine named her among its annual list of “The 30 Most Influential Teens”.
Source: Movies - aceshowbiz.com
