With the potential Peter Pan re-do from Channing Tatum and Warrior director Gavin O’Connor and another “dark” take with Aaron Eckhart, it seems like the character is getting some rejuvenated interest. Another related project is gearing up, as Jesse Wigutow is set to make his break-out, as Disney has hired the scribe to adapt the best-selling children’s novel Peter and the Starcatchers for the big screen. [Deadline]
For those unfamiliar with the 2004 novel published by Disney’s Hyperion and co-authored by Dave Berry and Ridley Pierson, it gives the backstory to the iconic figure of Peter Pan. The Broadway adaptation of the novel has just been nominated for nine Tony Awards, making this project a very hot commodity in Hollywood right now. And as if you hadn’t guessed, the novel is the first in a series aka it will become a franchise soon enough.
Check out the synopsis for the novel below via Amazon:
Don’t even think of starting this bookunless you’re sitting in a comfortable chair and have lots of time. Afast-paced, impossible-to-put-down adventure awaits as the young orphan Peter and his mates are dispatched to an island ruled by the evil King Zarboff. They set sail aboard the Never Land, a ship carrying a precious and mysterious trunk in its cargo hold, and the journey quickly becomes fraught with excitement and danger.
Discoverrichly developed characters in the sweet but sophisticated Molly, the scary but familiar Black Stache, and the fearless Peter. Treacherous battles withpirates, foreboding thunderstorms at sea, and evocative writing immerses thereader in a story that slowly and finally reveals the secrets and mysteries of the beloved Peter Pan.
I’m not overjoyed at the thought of another Peter Pan “reboot” (if you could call it that), but this seems different than the last ones we saw back in 2003 and 2004. Not only does Wigutow have this new project on his plate, but he has also been hired to adapt Robert Ludlum‘s Osterman Weekend as well as the upcoming Crow reboot.
What do you make of Wigutow penning the adaptation of Peter and the Starcatchers?