On Friday, August 09, 2025, atD23 Expo: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event, thousands of fans of who gathered in Hall D23 at the Anaheim Convention Center for the two-hour “Studio Showcase, Day 1: Celebrate the Magic of Disney and Pixar” presentation were exclusively treated to the first footage of the upcominglive-action adaptation ofPeter Pan & Wendy, debuting in 2023.Peter Pan & Wendywill spotlight these iconic characters in a whole new way.
Alongside President of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production (Disney Live Action) Sean Bailey, the film’s cast, including Ever Anderson as Wendy, Alexander Molony as Peter Pan, Alyssa Wapanatâhk as Tiger Lily, and Jude Law as Captain Hook, took the stage for the footage reveal and let slip that the live-action film would explore Wendy and Peter as equals. “It’s been really amazing to be able to play Wendy,” said Anderson. “Disney has worked very hard to give her a lot more depth and a lot more character so that her and Peter are equals in this film, which I’ve found really amazing. So that’s what you guys will be able to see.”
Indeed, in the first-look footage, attendees were introduced to a live-action Wendy who seemingly will deliver on Anderson’s promise to the D23 audience that we can expect a more flushed-out female character in director David Lowery and producer Jim Whitaker’s live-action re-imagining of the 1953 animated classic, which was based on J.M. Barrie’s 1904 playPeter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up. The new film dives deeper into Wendy’s story as she joins the boy who refuses to grow up on a magical journey to Neverland and reveals the history behind Peter Pan’s rivalry with one of Disney’s most memorable villains, Captain Hook.
Related:Peter Pan & Wendy: Story, Release Date and Cast for Live-Action Disney+ Movie
Alyssa Wapanatâhk Is Honored to Tell Tiger Lily’s Story
Peter Pan & Wendywill also re-imagine and expand the role of Tiger Lily, who Barrie describes inPeter Panas “a princess in her own right” but has never received the screen time she deserves – or anything she deserves. The various iterations of the character havedrawn criticism over the years due to her racist depictionsand the fact that the name of the fictional tribe to which she belongs is a racial slur.
However, unlike the previous Tiger Lily actresses, Wapanatâhk is a Canadian Cree actress and said during the presentation that to “have the honor of being able to take on the role as Tiger Lily is huge,” adding that she’s excited “to be able to tell the story for her.”
