“Peter Pan” first welcomes “Black Wonder Fairy”

On the road of promoting racial diversity, Disney has taken a step forward. According to a report by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on the 28th, in the latest live-action film “Peter Pan and Wendy”, the winged elf “Wonderful Fairy” Jingle Fairy will be starred by the African-American actress Yala Shahidi .

“Peter Pan” as a famous children’s literature has appeared on the screen many times, including Disney’s “Peter Pan” in 1953, “Captain Hook” directed by the great director Spielberg in 1991, and the British version of “Captain Hook” in 2003. Peter Pan “Peter Pan”, “Peter Pan: A Dream Set Sail” starred by Hugh Jackman in 2015, and many animated versions. As an important supporting role, the lovely and wonderful fairy has always been a blonde and white image, played by Hollywood actress Julia Roberts and French actress Ludwin Saigner, but now, Disney is looking for a black actress to play For this role, 20-year-old Yala Shahidi was selected.

Shahidi, who was born as a child star, has been on the screen for more than ten years: at the age of 7, she appeared on the screen at the age of 9 and played the daughter of black comedian Eddie Murphy in the family comedy “Fantasy Land”. “The new never tires the old” is a household name. In addition to acting, Disney chose Shahidi because she is an active black civil rights activist-calling on young people to participate in politics, actively voting for the American election, supporting the “Black People’s Fate” campaign, etc. Show host Oprah even predicted that “we will wait until the moment she enters the White House.” The British “Guardian” commented that Shahidi was a politically radical Hollywood star, and she herself accepted it. After learning about getting the part of Wonderful Fairy, Shahidi said, “This is very important to me and I look forward to the next adventure.”

With the encouragement of Oscars and the promotion of major studios such as Disney, more and more traditional white roles are played by blacks. The red-haired and snow-skinned “Little Mermaid” will be starred by the black female singer Harry Bailey in Disney’s latest live-action film; the role of Hermione in the stage play “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” will also become Black actresses…In the BBC’s view, such casting may become more and more common in the future.