Jim Gaffigan Will Co-Star In The New Live-Action Peter Pan
Peter Pan and Wendy just added a great comedic piece to their upcoming production with the news Jim Gaffigan has been cast as Smee.
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Jim Gaffigan, for all of his standup comic success, has never really translated that all that much into major onscreen roles. Sure he’s been lightly involved in many films over the years and did start and stop on a couple of television projects. But basically, his fame has come from the jokes he’s told on stage and the standup specials he’s crushed. That might be set to change soon for the comic though with word that’s he’s been cast in a big-budget movie. Jim Gaffigan has been cast in the upcoming live-action version of Peter Pan and Wendy.
Jim Gaffigan’s role in Peter Pan and Wendy will be that of Smee, the righthand man to Captain Hook. The Smee character feels perfect for Gaffigan. The role is for a somewhat likable and silly type who is kind of along for the villain ride. There’s some slapstick humor involved, but mostly his character will be in charge of doofus-ly questioning the commands of an inept master who is always coming up on the wrong side of Peter Pan and company. It isn’t likely Smee gets in on all that much action, but Gaffigan is likely solely there for comic relief. So again, it’s a perfect role.
Peter Pan and Wendy is just another live action version coming out of the Disney catalog, a strategy they’ve been leaning into in recent years to great success. Along with Jim Gaffigan as Smee, the movie has made a number of other casting decisions as well. Newcomer Alex Molony is taking the titular role of Peter in what will be his feature film debut. Joining him is Ever Anderson as Wendy Darling. She’s the daughter of Milla Jovovich and Paul W.S. Anderson. And Yara Shahidi (Black-ish) is on as Tinker Bell.
The big casting addition is Jude Law playing Captain Hook. It will be awesome seeing him and Jim Gaffigan playing against each other on screen. One is the straight laced, rather sinister, but good looking captain who isn’t quick to smile. And the other is the rather jovial half-wit Smee. This could be such a villain pairing which brings up a Luke Evans(Gaston) / Josh Gad (LeFou) vibe we saw in Beauty and the Beast.
Peter Pan and Wendy will join the growing list of Disney offerings that have translated the animated movies into live-action versions. They’ve had incredible success with films like the aforementioned Beauty and the Beast plus Lion King, Dumbo, Aladdin and The Jungle Book. In fact, they’ve planned a version for Raya and the Last Dragon and that movie hasn’t even hit screens yet. Adding Jim Gaffigan’s name to the latest film is only proof they continue attracting stars to the productions.
There’s no specific timing on when we’ll see Jim Gaffigan as Smee in Peter Pan and Wendy with casting decisions still being made. We likely get it sometime in 2022 on Disney+. In the meantime, Jim Gaffigan is set to star in Linoleum, which will be a science fiction comedy.
