Steven Spielberg is one of the most acclaimed filmmakers of the generation. The director has helmed some of the greatest films of the past few decades such as E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park, Empire of the Sun, Saving Private Ryan, and more. He is known for his hopeful storytelling which favors optimism in the face of adversity.
While the filmmaker has crafted some of the most memorable films of the past few decades, he has also helmed a few duds that have not met expectations. One of his most infamous failures is the Peter Pan film Hook, which starred Robin Williams. However, the film was reportedly pursued by Michael Jackson, who always wanted to play Peter Pan.
Steven Spielberg Convinced Michael Jackson To Drop Out Of Hook
Filmmaker Steven Spielberg decided to tackle the popular tale of Peter and Wendy after helming the Indiana Jones films. He reportedly wanted to direct the story as he felt a personal connection to Peter Pan. He even mentioned in an interview that the metaphor for flying in every piece of media was, in his opinion, a nod to the story.
The film was notoriously a messy production and had many issues due to his decision to shoot the film on a set. Though the film first had Nick Castle as the director after Spielberg abandoned the project midway, the filmmaker came back after stars Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman had creative differences with Castle (via Steven Spielberg: A Biography).
Though Robin Williams ended up being the adult Peter Pan in Hook, he almost lost his role to a strange choice. Spielberg mentioned that pop star Michael Jackson approached him and vigorously campaigned himself for the role as he always wanted to play Peter Pan. However, the filmmaker convinced him otherwise (via EW),
Michael had always wanted to play Peter Pan, but I called Michael and said, “This is about a lawyer that is brought back to save his kids and discovers that he was once, when he was younger, Peter Pan.” So Michael understood at that point it wasn’t the same Peter Pan he wanted to make.
The film was also set to be a musical at one point had Jackson been successful in being cast. However, Williams ended up playing the role in the film, which has now been considered a cult classic.
Steven Spielberg Admitted That He Only Likes Parts of Hook
Steven Spielberg’s Hook follows Robin Williams as a grown-up Peter Pan, who is tasked with rescuing his children, who have been kidnapped by Captain Hook. The adventure film was a commercial success, earning over $300 million against an $80 million budget (via Box Office Mojo). However, the studio reportedly considered it to be a financial disappointment.
Spielberg himself has looked back on the film as one of his lesser works. The production schedule reportedly went over budget, leading Spielberg, Williams, and actor Dustin Hoffman to take salary cuts in order to realize the movie (via Mental Floss). The filmmaker went on to say to EW,
There are parts of Hook I love. I’m really proud of my work right up through Peter being hauled off in the parachute out the window, heading for Neverland. I’m a little less proud of the Neverland sequences because I’m uncomfortable with that highly stylized world that today, of course, I would probably have done with live-action character work inside a completely digital set. But we didn’t have the technology to do it then, and my imagination only went as far as building physical sets and trying to paint trees blue and red.
The film was also reportedly marred by a difficult working relationship with actress Julia Roberts which made huge headlines at the time (via Vanity Fair).
Hook is available to stream on AMC+.
