Peter Pan & Wendy

Yara Shahidi As Tinkerbell In “Peter Pan & Wendy” Trailer Has Racist Twitter Users Fuming

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For years now, Disney has been reimagining animated childhood classic films into live-action stories starring some of our favourite actors. It all began in 2010 with Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, and since then we’ve seen other tales like Cinderella, Dumbo, and The Lion King brought to life. More recently, we’ve seen Cruella and Pinocchio, and in the coming months, both Peter Pan & Wendy and The Little Mermaid will be hitting theatres.

To the surprise of many producers made the creative decision to cast Black women in roles traditionally characterized by white features. Halle Bailey was cast as Ariel to take us under the sea this May, and Yara Shahidi was tapped to bring Tinkerbell to life in the upcoming magical movie. On Tuesday (February) 28, Disney finally dropped off the trailer, giving audiences their first look at the 23-year-old in character.

Disney’s Magical Peter Pan & Wendy Trailer is Here

Due out at the end of April, the project follows a free-spirited Peter Pan as he whisks away his new friend Wendy to his home of Neverland. While there, the young girl faces no fears of growing up, much like her unique, green-outfitted companion. Much like in the animated original, we’ll see adventures with mermaids, pirates, and fairies along their journey.

As Variety notes, Peter Pan & Wendy was first teased at the D23 Expo last September. It was directed by David Lowery, and sees Alexander Molony and Ever Anderton in the leading titular roles. Fans are also excited to see Jude Law’s performance as he brings the villainous Captain Hook to life. What the internet seems to be debating about, though, is Shahidi’s casting.

Twitter Reacts to Yara Shahidi as Tinkerbell

Yara Shahidi is seen in Midtown on January 18, 2023, in New York City. (Photo by Gotham/GC Images)

“So instead of giving POC their own movies or making new movies with POC characters, they decided to just make white characters Black for some reason?” one Twitter user asked earlier today, pointing out that The Princess and the Frog is the only Disney project with a royal Black lead. “Who’s rooting for Paris Hilton to play Pocahontas? Come on guys,” someone else joked.

While the hate is obviously running rampant, there are still plenty coming to Shahidi’s defense. “‘Tinkerbell isn’t black’ and fairies aren’t fucking real so now what?” one of them expertly shut down the online trolls. Keep scrolling to read Twitter reactions to Yara Shahidi bringing the first Black Tinkerbell to life. Make sure to check back later for more pop culture news updates.

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