Yara Shahidi on starring in ‘Peter Pan & Wendy’ as Tinker Bell: ‘It’s beautiful’

A brand new Tinker Bell has arrived. Years after the initial announcement, a brand new “Peter Pan” tale starring Yara Shahidi is just days away. TheGrio caught up with the “Grown-ish” actor ahead of the film’s release, breaking down her decision to take on the iconic role.

Yara Shahidi attends the world premiere of the Disney+ Original “Peter Pan & Wendy” on April 20, 2023, at the Curzon Cinema Mayfair in London. (Photo by Antony Jones/Getty Images for Disney)

From the original novel and play by J.M. Barrie to various TV and film adaptations, the story of Peter Pan is one of the most beloved in literature. While Shahidi, the latest to take on Tinker Bell, had many projects to reference, the actress looked primarily to the iconic Disney iteration from 1953. “Of course I look back particularly at that animated classic because I think that’s one that lives so largely in all of our lives,” she told us. “When you think Peter Pan and you think Tinker Bell, it’s that image of her in the green little dress!”

Still, this new adaptation allowed Shahidi to put her stamp on the character, a freedom granted to her by the film’s screenwriter and director, David Lowery. “I was really using the roadmap that David Lowery gave us through his script and through his direction,” she explained. “It was an interesting fine line of being like, ‘OK, there is a lot of research to be done and I love that I have all of these things at my disposal,’ but it was really fun to kind of take inspiration and influence from things that maybe seem unexpected.”

Shahidi also turned to silent movie performances and Josephine Baker for inspiration as she carved out her own version of Tinker Bell. “[Looking at] anybody really that has that ability to be so expressive and communicative with no words was such a fun part of the process,” she said.

The power of representation in a young Black actress taking on this iconic role is not lost on her as well, an honor she calls “beautiful.”

Shahidi said, “It’s beautiful to be a part of this lineage and evolution of who Tinker Bell is and it’s fun to think that this ‘Peter Pan & Wendy’ is gonna be the version of the fairytale that so many kids are introduced to and it’s going to be the norm.”

She also recognizes she is not the only one bringing a fresh take to familiar franchises, like Halle Bailey’s upcoming turn as Princess Ariel in “The Little Mermaid.” She explained, “It’s cool to come about in a time when we’re not the only ones doing this, that there’s many a space and person to turn to that are bringing different heritages and cultures to these really large franchises and large stories.”

“It feels like it’s a part of an authentic and honest culture shift in saying, we need those heavy-hitting, important serious stories that are diverse and inclusive, but we need fairy tales, and fantasies and things that encourage us to dream big,” she concluded. “And we need those to look like the world around us.”

“Peter Pan & Wendy” begins streaming April 28 exclusively on Disney+.

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