Everybody’s favorite college student has gained their wings and is ready to fly – quite literally. Yara Shahidi, leading actress in the young adult TV show “Grown-ish,” will play Tinker Bell in Disney’s live-action remake of “Peter Pan and Wendy.”
On Sept. 25, Disney announced that Shahidi will be the first Black actress to play Tinker Bell. This news marks the latest development in Disney’s continued efforts to diversify their fictional characters. Last year, Disney also announced that the actress and singer Halle Bailey will play Ariel in the live-action remake of “The Little Mermaid.”
As Disney continues to make progress, fans have used their wings somewhere else: Twitter.
A quick search of #TinkerBell on Twitter highlights numerous fans excited to hear about Shahidi’s casting. One fan by the username of @JordanBeltonBro said, “We have a black Little Mermaid and now a BLACK TINKER BELL….period, I’m Ready!”
Some comments were critical, mentioning the skin color of Tinker Bell, how Disney should have different groups of people of color to play leading roles and how Disney should stop remaking classics.
However, a common fan response to such statements is that Tinkerbell is a fictional fairy, and therefore the casting can be explored.
Nonetheless, people are rooting for Shahidi, and they all hope she kills it as the new Tinker Bell!
