Disney is reworking one of its planned live-action spin-offs of an animated classic into a Disney+ streaming series. Deadline reports that Liz Heldens and Bridget Carpenter have been hired to develop Tink, a live-action spin-off based on the fairy Tinker Bell from Peter Pan. Heldens and Carpenter had previously worked together writing Friday Night Lights, with both being nominated for the series at the WGA Awards in 2007 and 2008.
Tink was originally pitched as a live-action feature film in 2015, starring Reese Witherspoon. The project, like 2014’s Maleficent or 2021’s Cruella, was not a straightforward remake of a Disney animated film, but a spin-off prequel based on one of their animated film’s most popular characters. In 2021, Tink shifted to a Disney+ film with Witherspoon still attached as producer and Escape Room writer Maria Melnik set to rewrite the screenplay originally written by Victoria Strous. The project’s status was called into question after Yara Shahidi was cast as Tinker Bell in Peter Pan & Wendy, the live-action remake of Walt Disney’s Peter Pan, which debuted on Disney+ in 2023. No word on whether Witherspoon is still attached as Tink following the shift from film to streaming series.
Created by J.M. Barrie in 1904’s Peter Pan, Tinker Bell is Peter Pan’s fairy companion. The animated version introduced in 1953’s Peter Pan by Walt Disney Studios became the most iconic version of the character. The image of Tinker Bell flying over the Walt Disney castle with a trail of pixie dust, beginning with the television series Disneyland, made Tinker Bell an unofficial mascot of Disney and likely the second-most famous character associated with the company, behind only Mickey Mouse.
This is not the first time Disney has spun Tinker Bell off before. In 2008, Disney released the CGI animated Tinker Bell, which was a prequel film that followed Tinker Bell’s adventures before meeting Peter Pan. While seen as the end of Disney’s direct-to-video sequel line, Tinker Bell launched its own successful franchise, which includes five sequels: 2009’s Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure, 2010’s Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Escape, 2012’s Secret of the Wings, 2013’s Pirate Fairy, and 2015’s Tinker Bell and the Legend of the Never Land Beast. The franchise turned the already popular Tinker Bell into her own Disney franchise, similar to the Disney Princesses or Winnie the Pooh.
The development of Tink comes at an interesting time for the Walt Disney Company, given its live-action remake slate and its Disney+ series. Disney has canceled a number of live-action remakes of classic animated films including Robin Hood, The Aristocats, and Bambi while sticking with big theatrical remakes of more recent animated titles like Moana and Tangled. Meanwhile, Disney+ is in the middle of reworking its live-action output. After years of investing heavily in brands like Marvel and Star Wars to raise the profile of their streaming platform, Disney is now pulling back and refocusing those brands on films. Maybe a new live-action spin on one of their most popular characters is high-profile enough to draw interest as a series for subscribers, and the television format can allow the creators more time to flesh out the character.
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