Hugh Jackman’s New Job: Trying To Kill Peter Pan

OK, so we’re only guessing at the whole “trying to kill Peter Pan” thing, but it would seem to be part of his job. Jackman’s signed on to play Blackbeard in Pan Begins, oh, sorry, it’s just called Pan.

Before you ask, yes, it is a Peter Pan origin story, where we find out where everybody’s favorite child abductor came from. As for what Blackbeard has to do with it, and where Hook is, here’s the plot summary according to Variety:

The origin story revolves around an orphan who is taken to the magical world of Neverland where he becomes a hero to the natives and leads a revolt against the evil pirates. The idea is that Blackbeard is the film’s main antagonist while Hook would serve as Pan’s close ally before turning bad.

So essentially it’s The Last Samurai, except with children fighting pirates. Jackman is currently working on Neil Blomkamp’s Chappie, which is basically “Hugh Jackman adopts a robot”, and then he’ll become Blackbeard.

Mostly we’ll be curious to see how Warner Brothers expects to sell a Peter Pan movie. Despite the belief that every property people grew up with will be an instant hit, Peter Pan hasn’t fared so well in the movies. Hook is a movie many look on with great affection, but let’s face it, it’s not Spielberg at his best. Similarly, the 2003 Peter Pan wasn’t exactly a huge hit, although admittedly opening anywhere near The Lord Of The Rings will kind of limit your ability to make money. But, hey, in the long run, at least some of the money will go to sick children, so it’s a win either way.

(Image courtesy of Gage Skidmore on Flickr)

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