There have been countless retellings of the story of Peter Pan, but for fans who grew up in the 1990s, Steven Spielberg’s Hook remains the best. The movie stars Robin Williams as a grown-up version of Peter who left Neverland and forgot all about it only to be pulled back in when Captain Hook kidnaps his children.

Spielberg injects the movie with his signature sense of adventure, but it is the lovable cast that really makes the movie so much fun to revisit. But if the same Peter Pan story were to be told now, which modern actors would help bring Hook to the big screen?

8 Granny Wendy: Helen Mirren

Though she does not have a huge role in the overall adventure of the movie, Granny Wendy (Maggie Smith) is an interesting way that the movie addresses the mythology of Peter and Wendy. Though she once would go on adventures to Neverland with Peter, Wendy eventually grew old and helped convince Peter that growing old is not such a terrible thing.

Helen Mirren is one of those actors who exudes grace and elegance in all of her roles. She would bring that quality to the part of Granny Wendy, making the audience believe that this is someone who lived this adventurous life and who still has that spark of her youth all these years later.

7 Jack Banning: Jacob Tremblay

Jack (Charlie Korsmo) is Peter Banning’s son which makes for the most interesting relationship in the movie. While Jack wants to have fun with his father, Peter is too focused on work. This causes Jack to be distant and adversarial towards his father. When the kids are taken to Neverland, Captain Hook gradually manipulates Jack and turns him against Peter.

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Jacob Tremblay is one of the most talented young actors working in Hollywood today. He has starred in everything from comedies to horrors to animated family movies. But it was his breakout role in Room that showed Tremblay playing a sympathetic young kid dealing with a new world and his complicated relationship with his parent.

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6 Maggie Banning: Brooklyn Prince

Peter’s young daughter Maggie (Amber Scott) may not enjoy her father’s work-obsession anymore than Jack, but she is much less hostile to him. Despite her age, she is a tough little girl who is not afraid to speak her mind. Though Jack is taken in by Hook, Maggie remains defiant to the pirate captain and confident that their father will come to save them.

Brooklyn Prince is another very talented youngster who is poised to have a very interesting career. Her breakout role in The Florida Project shows her immense talent as a strong young girl who also had a bit of a rebellious side.

5 Rufio: Darren Barnet

One of the most iconic characters in Hook is the young Neverland warrior, Rufio (Dante Basco). In the absence of Peter Pan, Rufio becomes the young leader of the Lost Boys. He is a young man with a lot of confidence who initially is very antagonistic towards Peter. But as Peter proves he is still the same hero he once was, Rufio accepts him as his leader and follows him into battle.

Darren Barnet is best known for his role as Paxton on Never Have I Ever. Paxton is also a character whose arrogance and tough-guy demeanor is intimidating at first but he gradually proves himself to be a more complex and kind person underneath all of that.

4 Smee: Sam Richardson

Amidst the big adventure of the story, Smee (Bob Hoskins) is a great comic relief character. He is the right-hand man to Captain Hook and puts up with all of Hook’s insecurities, flashes of anger, and evil plans while maintaining a fun and positive attitude. Smee is also smart enough to look out for himself when needed.

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Sam Richardson is a terrific comic relief character as seen in the sci-fi action movie The Tomorrow War. He also had a hilarious role in Veep as Richard Splett who worked for some immoral and dishonest people yet maintained a happy and friendly attitude throughout.

3 Tinkerbell: Zendaya

Bringing in another key character from the Peter Pan mythology, Tinkerbell (Julia Roberts) is shown to be Peter’s close partner in the movie and the one who reintroduced him to Neverland. She is also a tough fighter herself despite her size and isn’t afraid to give Peter the hard truth when he needs to hear it.

Zendaya is one of the most engaging actors working today and could certainly pull off the compelling elegance of Tinkerbell. But the Spider-Man movies have also shown her playing the tough and funny confidante who isn’t afraid to speak her mind.

2 Peter Banning / Peter Pan: Jack Black

Robin Williams gives one of his most beloved performances in Hook that allows him to play on a lot of different levels. As the uptight and practical Peter Banning, Williams is goofy and uncoordinated. But when he embraces his identity as Peter Pan, it allows Williams to go wild with his inner child persona which is so much fun.

While it is unfair to compare another comedian to Williams, Jack Black is a terrific and energetic presence who could serve this role wonderfully. He can play those stuffy yet funny characters very well, but he also really delivers in roles that allow him to use all that wildness he has inside of him.

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1 Captain Hook: Tom Hanks

Captain Hook (Dustin Hoffman) is an iconic villain in movies and literature, but Hook does the wonderful job of allowing him to be funny and scary at the same time. He is a man who makes himself out to be a big, important figure but is also quite insecure about himself. It is a lot of fun seeing this murderous pirate also become a pathetic and childish person at times.

Tom Hanks doesn’t often play the villain role, but there is no doubt he could bring the necessary humor and presence to the role of Hook. Though it wasn’t a great movie, Hanks’ performance in The Ladykillers shows him having a lot of fun playing an over-the-top and eccentric villain which is exactly what is needed for this part.

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About The Author


Colin McCormick
(2038 Articles Published)

Colin McCormick is a Senior Writer with Screen Rant and has been a proud member of the team since 2019. In addition to his work as Screen Rant, Colin is also a writer of News, Feature and Review pieces at Game Rant. Colin has had a long passion and obsession with movies going back to the first time he saw The Lion King in theaters. Along with movies, Colin stays up-to-date on the latest must-see TV shows. While he loves to find interesting projects in any kind of genre, he has a special movie of crime stories that are infused with a little dark humor much like the work of his favorite author, Elmore Leonard.

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