Hugh Jackman to Make Natural Progression Toward Playing a Pirate in ‘Pan’

By  · Published on December 19th, 2013

After Hollywood heard the resounding cries of “I guess that would be okay, whatever!” in response to the barrage of Peter Pan films slated for revival, the writers behind one of the films have decided to do us one better and add double the pirates to the mix. The origin story Pan, directed by Joe Wright, will include the traditional character of Captain Hook, but will also feature the fearsome pirate Blackbeard to antagonize the poor little orphan Peter.

Stepping into that role? Hugh Jackman is in negotiations to take the part after Javier Bardem passed. The film follows a young orphan (presumably one who never wants to grow up?) who is brought to the magical world of Neverland, where he becomes a hero to the native people by leading a revolt against the dreaded pirates. In previous incarnations of Peter Pan, Captain Hook took the reins in leading the pirates to torture Peter and his band of misfits. However, this new vision realizes Blackbeard as the main villain with Hook serving as Pan’s “close ally” before turning evil himself. Hey, every villain has their origin story too.

Jackman has proven time and again that he is one of the most versatile actors around, starring in anything from musicals, to period pieces, to intense action movies. Though Wolverine is technically a superhero, the character’s gruffness and dark persona are little glimpses of what Jackman could bring to the table as a full-blown villain. His performance in Prisoners earlier this year showed that he could get believably aggressive and ruthless for the part. Although, we don’t really know what type of tone the Pan origin story is going to carry just yet; if the producers are going to play up a camp factor, then he’s got plenty of musical theater and absurd costume experience under his belt to be up for the task.

As for the rest of the production, there has been no such luck in moving forward with casting just yet. Ryan Gosling has been tossed around as a favored pick for playing the young Captain Hook (he’s hot in this version!), but at this moment he’s just a name. The studio is looking to go with a discovery pick for the Pan character, and is also scoping out “an actress in her mid-20s” to play Tiger Lily. The studio is going to have to act fast if they want to see this happen with their casting choices in mind – they’re looking to get this out by June 25th, 2015. Second star to the right and straight on ’til morning.

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