Joe Wright May Direct Peter Pan Origin 'Pan'

There are a number of Peter Pan projects floating around Hollywood at the moment, as the J.M. Barrie tale seems to be as eternally youthful as its protagonist. Gary Ross left The Hunger Games sequel to begin work on Peter and the Starcatchers; Channing Tatum has a Peter Pan film titled Neverland with Gavin O'Connor directing; and there's also the long-brewing Aaron Eckhart-led crime flick that reimagines Peter Pan as a serial killer and Captain Hook as a detective. Now there's one more to add to the list, and it may be the most promising of all as it will have Atonement and Hanna director Joe Wright at the helm.

Deadline reports Wright is in talks to direct 'Pan', an origin story scripted by Jason Fuchs which Warner Bros. hopes to build into a franchise. Little is known about exact plot details but it's expected to retain the most familiar elements of the story, such as Neverland and Captain Hook, while telling the tale of an orphan taken to the magical world where he grows up to save the natives from pirates. It's yet another adaptation for Wright, who has already adapted Pride & Prejudice and last year's Anna Karenina. 

Would anybody be surprised if Wright makes a couple of phone calls to Saoirse Ronan to Keira Knightley to inquire about the roles of Tinkerbell and Wendy?  Wright has long been working on a live-action take on The Little Mermaid, recently adding Kelly Marcel (Fifty Shades of Grey) as screenwriter, but it's unclear where that project stands now or if it's been cast aside for now.