Yara Shahidi Dishes On What Made Her Say Yes to Playing Tinker Bell in 'Peter Pan & Wendy'

Yara Shahidi Dishes On What Made Her Say Yes to Playing Tinker Bell in 'Peter Pan & Wendy'

Yara Shahidi is taking on the iconic role of Tinker Bell in the upcoming reimagining of Peter Pan & Wendy!

The 23-year-old grown-ish star’s casting was of course unfortunately met with people criticizing her casting because of the color of her skin.

In a new interview, Yara opened up about her decision to take on the role, which is one of a few where a Black woman is taking on a role that was previously portrayed as white in the animated classic.

Keep reading to see what she said…

“I talked to the director, David Lowery, about why he and the higher-ups at Disney wanted to retell this story and I loved his response,” she tells Byrdie. “They wanted to bring some new fun to this classic but also give us the fairy tale we deserve. It’s evident they’re not just popping Black and Brown folks in the cast for the sake of updating the story. Instead, it’s about creating a story that so many more people can see themselves in after we’ve been left out for so long.”

If you missed it, you can check out Yara in action as the fairy in the trailer for Peter Pan & Wendy, ahead of it’s Disney+ debut in April.

Did you see what Yara said about how her filming experience was different from that of her co-stars?

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Photos: Walt Disney Studios
Posted to: Peter Pan, Yara Shahidi