Many know the story of Peter Pan, the boy who never grew up, and that he had an archenemy named Captain Hook. In most versions of Peter Pan’s story, we only know that Captain Hook and Peter Pan are mortal enemies. In J.M. Barrie’s original story, Captain Hook wants to kill Peter after the latter cut off his hand.
We don’t know much about Peter Pan and Captain Hook’s history in other versions of the story. But Disney’s live-action remake provides an interesting backstory for Captain Hook: that he and Peter Pan were actually best friends.
This article discusses Captain Hook’s backstory in Peter Pan & Wendy.
Warning: This article contains spoilers for Peter Pan & Wendy. Read at your own risk!
Peter Pan & Wendy: Captain Hook’s Backstory Explained
In Peter Pan & Wendy, Peter Pan and Captain Hook used to be best friends.
Hook’s real name is James, and he was the first Lost Boy. However, Hook left Neverland because he missed his mother. Peter didn’t take this well and banished him.
Hook then got lost at sea, but he was taken in by Smee and the pirates. When he returned to Neverland, Peter couldn’t accept how he changed, saying that he became evil and cruel (although Wendy thinks that he probably just grew up).
And this is how Peter Pan and Captain Hook became mortal enemies.
“I wanted him to be sad, I wanted him to be scarred and gnarly and disgusting and scary, and funny too. Like an overheated, angry dad or uncle who, from a kid's perspective, is just really pathetic and loud,” said actor Jude Law in an interview with Collider.
And while in Disney’s 1953 animated film, Captain Hook merely exists to be the villain, Jude Law thinks that his version was a man forced to become a villain.
In their duel, Hook shares that the painful thing about getting old is “not the creaking bones or the dashed dreams or even the sense of death drawing ever the nearer.” It’s the fact that his best friend can stare him in the eyes and not recognize him.
Peter seems to have realized his mistake because he apologizes to Hook for hurting him and being a rotten friend. But Captain Hook refuses to accept his apology.
Wendy turns the ship upside down, which causes the pirates to fall off. Peter encourages Hook to fly by thinking happy thoughts.
But Hook responds that he doesn’t have any happy thoughts and falls into the sea. Peter grieves, saying that Hook was his friend.
RELATED: The Ending of Peter Pan & Wendy Explained
Peter Pan Goes Back to Neverland and Rescues Captain Hook
Captain Hook doesn’t really have a happy ending in earlier versions of Peter Pan’s story. In the book, Hook gets eaten by the crocodile who has been haunting him for years after Peter fed the pirate’s hand to it. Peter is free of Captain Hook.
In the 1953 Disney animated film, Peter Pan returns to Neverland with the Lost Boys while Captain Hook is being chased by the crocodile, with the rest of the pirate crew trying to save him. It’s unclear whether he actually survives.
At the end of Peter Pan & Wendy, Peter Pan goes back to Neverland to rescue Captain Hook. When Peter arrives at Neverland, he sees Hook floating in the ocean. Hook then looks up and sees Peter at the pirate ship. Peter Pan and Captain Hook then smile at each other.
Director David Lowery shared with Rotten Tomatoes the reason for the changes in the live-action remake:
“You’re going to want to know why they are the way they are, how they got to where they are. Once I started treating them as human beings who have these rich backstories, who have these feelings, who have these emotions, all of those elements came into play in a very centrifugal way,” Lowery said.
The ending of Disney’s live-action remake shows that Peter Pan and Captain Hook could be friends again. Perhaps this could be something explored in a Peter Pan & Wendy sequel.
RELATED: Why Are There So Many Disney Live-Action Remakes?
Peter Pan & Wendy is now available to stream on Disney+.