Peter Pan & Wendy Director Defends Controversial Decision To Cast Girls As Lost Boys
The director of Peter Pan & Wendy is speaking out to defend the casting choices for the Lost Boys. In Disney’s live-action remake of the classic Peter Pan, Peter takes Wendy and her brothers to Neverland, where they encounter the perpetually young Lost Boys. This time though, the Lost Boys aren’t all boys anymore, as their ranks have swelled to include girls as well.
The Peter Pan & Wendy trailer reveals a horde of little boys and girls who thrive in Neverland, and director David Lowery went to SFX Magazine to defend that casting decision. Some have criticized the decision to include girls among the Lost Boys, but Lowery isn’t too concerned about their frustration. Check out his quote below, via CBR:
Peter Pan & Wendy isn’t the first movie or show to suffer from backlash for increasing diversity in its cast. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power both received criticism this past year for including more women and characters of color in the casts of beloved franchises. Changes for adaptations are something worth critiquing, especially considering that many remakes, sequels, or prequels fail to touch upon the elements that made the original content great.
However, despite the fury being leveled at those shows and Peter Pan & Wendy, that doesn’t make it a bad decision. Girls deserve content too. The Lost Boys can have the same tight-knit bond and refusal to grow up in Peter Pan & Wendy without just being a horde of boys fighting Captain Hook. Little boys aren’t the only ones who might want to cling to childhood. Girls can have those same feelings, and they can fight for Neverland the same way too.
The diversity of the Peter Pan & Wendy cast allows girls to enjoy the movie as much as male viewers do. Considering that there isn’t really a need for Peter to involve boys only, he can invite girls to Neverland without anything about the story changing at all. The girls can be just as wild as the other Lost Boys without missing a beat, and it’s why the criticism of Peter Pan & Wendy just isn’t addressing the main point of the movie.
