14 DAY TRIAL // Warner Bros. is working on a retelling of the classic story “Peter Pan,” having already announced “Pan” for 2015, stating their intention to make this an origin story that will stray from the original in order to welcome a new segment of the audience into this magical world of the flying boy who never grew up.
Warners plans to stray so much from the original that they have changed the color of the skin of one of the characters, casting Rooney Mara, famous from hit films like “The Social Network,” “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” “Her” and “Side Effects,” as Tiger Lily.
Mara is an accomplished and versatile actress, but one thing that she’s not is Native American like the character. A petition has been started by fans who took special offense with this, aiming to raise enough signatures to make the studio understand the error of their ways.
The petition is hosted at The Petition Site and was initiated by Kristi Arnold. So far, it has gathered over 5,000 signatures, effectively crossing the first threshold set, and its aim is to show the studio, beyond a doubt, that having a white woman play a Native America character sends the wrong message to all those children who might convince their parents to pay the admission fee at the theater.
“Warner Bros. just announced Rooney Mara has been chosen to play the role of Tiger Lily, a Native American, in a Peter Pan adaptation. A statement by the studio was unapologetic, and said a black actress and a French actress were first considered for the role. This casting choice is particularly shameful for a children's movie. Telling children their role models must all be white is unacceptable,” the text argues.
Ironically, in the same announcement for “Pan,” the studio boasted of how they were going to create a diverse universe. Their casting decision speaks to the contrary of that.
“The studio statement mentioned, ‘The world being created is multi-racial/international – and a very different character than previously imagined.’ Yet it stars Mara and two white guys - Hugh Jackman and Garrett Hedlund. Not so multi-racial after all, Warner Bros.,” says the text.
So far, neither Warners nor Mara has said anything on the topic. If you consider the angry replies on various forums from other fans on the same topic, it’s easy to say that the casting decision is arguable at best.
Of course, voices don’t lack arguing that we should first see the film and then lament about the casting.