Hollywood actor Stanley Tucci is to star as the legendary Captain Hook in a new ITV adaption of J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, entitled Peter & Wendy.
The Devil Wears Prada star will be joined by and Laura Fraser (Breaking Bad, A Knight’s Tale) as Mrs Darling and singer/songwriter Paloma Faith who will make a guest appearance as Tinker Bell.
Newcomers Zac Sutcliffe and Hazel Doupe will play the title roles.
The drama will open in modern day Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) where twelve-year-old Lucy Rose (Doupe) is awaiting treatment for a serious heart condition.
Her mother Julie (Fraser) is distraught with the fear of losing her child, and surgeon Mr Wylie (Tucci) assures her he’ll do everything in his power to make the operation a success.
The day before her operation, Lucy reads J.M. Barrie’s novel of Peter Pan to a crowd of sick children in the hospital, and she goes to sleep with thoughts of the classic tale in her head.
Lucy dreams this version of Peter Pan into existence and the story is retold through the young girl’s imagination as it cuts back and forth between Lucy’s modern day struggles and the fantasy land of Neverland, with the common theme being positivity and belief.
Producer Stewart Mackinnon said: “The drama will retain the classic structure and content of J.M Barrie’s original Peter Pan, while adding a new framing story designed to allow audiences a different way into the story.
“The modern framework makes funny and at times poignant connections with the original material, while allowing the film to make an affectionate nod towards the traditional theatrical device of actors doubling and even tripling in different roles.
“This device also establishes a connection with Great Ormond Street Hospital, the world famous children’s hospital that has become irrevocably associated with Peter Pan.”
ITV’s Director of Drama Steve November said: “I’m delighted to be bringing J.M. Barrie’s classic story of Peter Pan to ITV. This wonderful interpretation by Adrian Hodges is faithful to Barrie’s original, but adds a new and unexpected dimension that makes it feel as though we are hearing the story for the first time.”
He continued, “We’re thrilled to have such a great cast on board to star in this exciting new drama.”
Christine De Poortere, Peter Pan Director at Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity said: “We are absolutely thrilled to see Peter Pan in an exciting new screen version, especially as it brings together Barrie’s original story and GOSH, the honoured recipient of his amazing gift.
“As Barrie said himself “At one time Peter Pan was an invalid in the Hospital for Sick Children, and it was he who put me up to the little thing I did for the Hospital.” I’m sure Barrie would have been proud of what Headline Pictures and the cast have done with his timeless story”.
