First Trailer for ‘Pan’ Takes Audiences Back to Neverland (100 Screenshots)

Warner Bros. welcomes audiences back to Neverland in the first trailer for Pan. From director Joe Wright (Atonement; Pride & Prejudice), this take on the fabled, green-tights wearing hero is a complete reimagining of Peter Pan’s (Levi Miller) origin story. Not only that, but we also get our first look at a young Captain James Hook (Garrett Hedlund). You can find the trailer after the jump.

Hugh Jackman‘s hairline aside, I think Pan looks like an adventure flick for the whole family to enjoy. The idea of an origin story with a younger Pan and young Hook, for some reason, I find to be fun. Maybe I just love Disney’s Peter Pan and Hook too much? Joe Wright is a very unique director who can dish out an award caliber period piece (Atonement; Pride & Prejudice) while also being able to create a compelling action thriller (Hanna). His vision seems to make Neverland very lively and colorful here.

However, seeing Rooney Mara, who is a wonderful actress, playing the part of a Native American has me frazzled. I’m perfectly OK when a character like Beetee from The Hunger Games is written as a Caucasian and played by an African American because the character’s ethnicity doesn’t factor into the nature of the role. Here, we have a girl named Tiger Lily who is of Native American descent, living with her tribe of other Native Americans, and yet she is being played by a Caucasian actress.

I’ve never been one to get all up in arms about racebending in film – and we can all agree M. Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender is the biggest offender – but this is a pretty silly decision. I think it’s great that Mara is branching out into new roles that will stretch her career beyond soulful and dark dramas, but I’m not sure what her agent or the casting department were thinking. Seeing her in this trailer is awkward.

(Click on the thumbnails below to begin the screenshot gallery)

Here’s the brief plot synopsis from Warner Bros.:

“Offering a new take on the origin of the classic characters created by J.M. Barrie, the action adventure follows the story of an orphan who is spirited away to the magical Neverland. There, he finds both fun and dangers, and ultimately discovers his destiny—to become the hero who will be forever known as Peter Pan.”

Directed by Joe Wright, Pan stars Levi Miller as Peter Pan, Hugh Jackman as Blackbeard, Garrett Hedlund as James Hook, Rooney Mara as Tiger Lily, Amanda Seyfried as Mary, Leni Zieglmeier as Wendy Darling, and Adeel Akhtar as Smee

Pan is set to release in theaters on July 17, 2015