Joe Wright, the British filmmaker best known for Pride And Prejudice and Atonement, is directing the movie Pan.

Boys of all ethnicities between the ages of 11 and 13 have been invited to audition later this month for the starring role in the Warner Bros film.

Les Miserables star Hugh Jackman has been cast as the villainous pirate Blackbeard in the movie, due out next year.

Peter Pan, a boy who can fly and never ages, was created by Scottish novelist and playwright JM Barrie.

The character first appeared in 1902 in The Little White Bird, while the play Peter Pan, Or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up, was first performed in London in 1904. The novel Peter And Wendy was published in 1911.

Previous film adaptations have included a silent film in 1924, Disney's animated adventure in 1953, and Peter Pan, a live action adventure, in 2003.

The auditions take place in Wembley Arena on Sunday February 23, with film production beginning in London in April.

Film bosses said "the role of Peter is described as a courageous and adventurous orphaned boy living in a world of fantasy and dreams, which sometimes leads him into trouble".