Hugh Jackman could play Blackbeard in Peter Pan reboot

We’re a bit conflicted about this. On the one hand, Joe ‘Atonement‘ Wright is making an ‘origin story’ based on Peter Pan, which ALREADY HAS AN ORIGIN STORY IN IT, and it’s going to star a young James Hook and an even younger Peter Pan teaming up to take down the villainous Blackbeard. On the other hand, HUGH JACKMAN MIGHT BE BLACKBEARD. See why we’re dithering?

On the whole, Pan sounds like a ghastly idea. Peter’s background has been covered in everything from Hook to Finding Neverland, and the story itself has been rehashed time and again (most recently, we think, in 2003’s Peter Pan). Painting Peter and the “dark and sinister man” as former allies is such a radical departure from canon that we’re not sure it could ever make sense. Also, we agree that Hook is supposed to have been Blackbeard’s bo’sun, but that must have been in the real world before he somehow ended up in Neverland – but Peter can’t possibly have met him there, because (we think) he created Neverland with his imagination. It didn’t exist without Peter, and Peter wasn’t the Pan until he got there. ALSO, if we meet Hook before his first climactic battle with Peter (which does, admittedly, occur before the events of Peter Pan), then he won’t have a hook because Peter won’t have cut off his hand yet. And we MUSTN’T know his real name, because “to reveal who he really was would even at this date set the country in a blaze”. Surely they won’t just be called Peter and James, like apostles or something? Oh god oh god this is too much.

Anyway, Hugh Jackman hasn’t played a baddie since Scoop (or, arguably, Butter), so that’d be interesting. If this film happens. Which it shouldn’t.

How do you feel about throwing the lid off Peter Pan’s past? Are we taking it all too seriously? Let us know below!

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