Though 2015 is already lined up to have one of the most ludicrously packed summers in cinematic history, Hollywood studios just can’t seem to stop piling on more movies week after week. Joe Wright, the director of Atonement and Anna Karenina, announced today that his dark Peter Pan tale Pan will hit theaters in 3D on June 26th, 2015.
This project, which was conceived and written by Ice Age: Continental Drift scribe Jason Fuchs, has been in the works over at Warner Bros. for a few years now, but the project first gained traction last month when Wright became attached to direct and Javier Bardem was offered the role of Blackbeard.
Pan has long been marketed as a darker, moodier take on the Peter Pan story, though the addition of 3D and a summer release date suggest that the project may end up as more of a crowd-pleasing blockbuster.
No full cast has yet been announced, though Bardem is widely tipped to take the Blackbeard role and Greg Berlanti (The CW’s Arrow) has agreed to produce the film.
June is definitely the most crowded month of the 2015 season. Currently, the only film opening against Pan will be Seth MacFarlane’s Ted 2, but both films also arrive a week after the box office one-two punch of Fox’s Fantastic Four reboot and Pixar’s mind-bending Inside Out. Other titles already set for release that month include the Dwayne Johnson actioner San Andreas, DreamWorks Animation’s R.I.P.D. take-off B.O.O.: Bureau of Otherworldly Operations and highly-anticipated sequel Jurassic World.
Personally, I feel that a darker Peter Pan movie could be very interesting, especially with Wright’s eye-catching visuals. If the director attaches solid actors (Bardem is certainly a tantalizing possibility) and aims for story over spectacle, he could have a real hit on his hands. The last cinematic portrayal of the Boy Who Never Grew Up came in 2003, and I’m honestly surprised that Hollywood has let Peter Pan lie dormant for this long.
Tell us, are you interested in seeing a fresh take on the Peter Pan story? Is Joe Wright the right choice to direct Pan? Let us know in the comments section!
