Hollywood: Yara Shahidi tapped to play Tinker Bell by Disney

Disney has tapped Yara Shahidi to play the role of Tinker Bell in their live-action ‘Peter Pan’ film. The ‘Grown-ish’ star will feature in David Lowery’s ‘Peter Pan and Wendy’ and will star across from Alexander Molony, who plays Peter, Ever Anderson, who plays Wendy, and Jude Law, who plays Captain Hook.

Previous actresses who’ve played Tinker Bell include Mae Whitman, Keira Knightly and Julia Roberts.

Shahidi, who first rose to popularity on the sitcom ‘Black-ish’, more recently starred in her own spin-off, ‘Grown-ish’, where her character, Zoey, goes off to college.

Shahidi’s casting in ‘Peter Pan’ is being touted as a historic move, as it marks the first time the role of Tinker Bell, a fairy, is played by a Black woman. The 20-year-old actress is daughter to African-American actress Keri Shahidi and Iranian celebrity photographer Afshin Shahidi.

“Thank you for all of the love. It, truly, means so much to me. I’m excited for this next adventure!” wrote Shahidi, alongside fanart of Tinker Bell on her Instagram.

Earlier, Disney marked another first when they chose R’n’B singer and actress Halle Bailey to play Ariel in ‘The Little Mermaid’.