Disney has made an aboslute mint with its Disney Princesses range over the last decade or so, and as a result a couple of years ago they decided to launch a companion Fairies range, the centrepiece of which has been Tinker Bell, along with a whole new set of her fairy friends. Sine then, the Mouse House has produced several CG straight-to-DVD Tinker Bell movies (the first got a theatrical release in some countries), and really built up the fairy following.
However they’re not about to stop there and are now working on Tink, which would take Peter Pan’s fairy friend live action. Although she’s been played by the likes of Julia Roberts in Hook and Ludivine Sagnier in 2003’s Peter Pan, this would be her first live action solo feature. And it looks like they’ve already found the actress they want to play her, as Variety reports Elizabeth Banks has been lined up to play the fairy, and she’s also helping develop the film through her Brownstone Productions banner.
McG, Adam Shankman and Jennifer Gibgot will produce, with the final deals being put together now. No plot details have leaked out, but Elizabeth Wright Shapiro’s script will apparently ‘play with the mischievous natures of the Tinker Bell character’.
While no director is attached as yet, you’ve got to wonder whether McG is eyeing it, as apparently he’s been helping develop the project. It’ll be interesting to see where this goes, as Disney is going to want this to be a major boost to their Fairies range, but it’ll be a tough thing to pull off successfully, especially without Peter Pan. It also has to be said that while Banks is great, the rest of the talent attached don’t inspire too much confidence.