Peter Pan, J.M Barrie’s saucy tale of flying kids and the punk-ass who leads them (a tale since bastardized to describe the “syndrome” as to why so many patrons of Comic-Con enjoy video games, super hero movies and refuse to move out of their parent’s homes) will see yet another iteration- this time in the curly-tipped shoes of a sequel.
While I didn’t know Peter Pan even had a sequel, I now stand corrected. Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity Trustees, the intellectual copyright holders of Johnny Depp (aka J.M Barrie), conducted a worldwide search in 2004 for the next great novelist to pen the continuation of Pan’s adventures. Author Geraldine McCaughrean was chosen and “Peter Pan in Scarlet” (I’m not touching that Johansen joke) debuted in October. I don’t think I’m going too far when I say most of us missed the fanfare on that one.
However, what we missed doesn’t matter, as Geraldine McCaughrean’s book was recently picked up for financing by “an independent producer” and two “U.K. government-backed firms”. I don’t know what either of those mean, other than we’ll see yet another sparkly attempt at a Peter Pan movie, of which none ever seem to do well at the box office.
Seeing as how this whole project has its genesis in the U.K., I imagine it may be while before we U.S. dwellers see anything, or any interest, come of it. Personally, I think the tale ran itself out when most guys wondered why it took a girl to play a guy (sissy!) and when that Peter Pan internet guy hit it big.