Who plays Tinker Bell in Peter Pan and Wendy on Disney+?

Peter Pan is the latest Disney movie to get a live-action reboot. Of course, there are comments about who will play Tinker Bell in Peter Pan and Wendy.

Disney is getting into a habit of bringing live-action remakes. Peter Pan is the latest movie to get a live-action remake, and there have been some immediate comments on Tinker Bell. Despite being a white character in the 1950s animated movie, a Black actress is taking on the role in the new movie coming to Disney+ on Friday, April 28.

Can we just stop with the complaints? Do you really think Tinker Bell could have been anything but white in the 1950s animation? Think of the time period, people! And it’s a fictional character. Fictional characters can be any color, and it’s about time that there were some non-white characters for people of color to look up to or see themselves in.

I’ll step off the soapbox now, and focus on the point of this post. It’s all about the actress taking on the role in Peter Pan and Wendy and where you’ve seen her before.

Yara Shahidi plays Tinker Bell in Peter Pan and Wendy

Tinks is played by Yara Shahidi, and you will certainly recognize her if you’re a fan of the ABC series Black-ish. Shahidi played Zoey Johnson, the eldest child of Dre and Bow in the series. She would go on to land her own spin-off series Grown-ish on Freeform.

That’s not the only place you’ve seen her. She was also in Scandal, playing Young Olivia in a couple of episodes. You will have also seen her in the 2010 movie Salt with Angelina Jolie and she played Janelle Cross in the 2012 movie Alex Cross.

Shahidi has also done a wide range of voice roles in her career. You can hear her in PAW Patrol: The Movie, Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia, and My Father’s Dragon.

So before you say “this fictional character wasn’t Black in the original,” maybe it’s time to give her a chance in the role and stop letting your bias from liking a movie. Especially when it comes to the brat that is Tinker Bell, anyway!

Peter Pan and Wendy is coming to Disney+ on Friday, April 28.