Jude Law in Talks to Play Captain Hook in Disney’s ‘Peter Pan & Wendy’

Sherlock Holmes star Jude Law is in talks to play the classic Disney villain, Captain Hook, in the studio’s live-action Peter Pan film “Peter Pan & Wendy,”.

“Pete’s Dragon” director David Lowery is on board to direct the film. Lowery also wrote the screenplay with Toby Halbrooks. Jim Whitaker is producing the film for Disney.

The film stars Ever Anderson as Wendy and Alexander Molony as Peter Pan, was among the shoots Disney paused on March 13 amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Disney’s 1953 animated classic is still the most successful adaptation of the J.M. Barrie novel about Peter Pan, the boy who wouldn’t age and the children whom he whisks away to the magical world of Neverland. Many other studios have made their own versions on the big and small screens, including Steven Spielberg’s “Hook” starring Robin Williams and Joe Wright’s “Pan,” both of which disappointed at the box office.

If the deal closes, Law would follow in the footsteps of Dustin Hoffman, Jason Isaacs and, most recently, Hugh Jackman as actors who have played the iconic pirate role in previous features of the story.

Disney is coming off a very strong year of live-action adaptations with both “Aladdin” and “The Lion King” grossing $1 billion at the global box office. Disney was so happy with its “Aladdin” live-action film that it has already begun developing a sequel to the film. The release of “Peter Pan & Wendy” is expected to be theatrical and not go the Disney Plus streaming route.

Law, a two-time Oscar nominee for Cold Mountain and The Talented Mr. Ripley, is coming off Sundance pic The Nest, in which he stars opposite Carrie Coon, and the Blake Lively-led The Rhythm Section.

_{News source: Variety}