Director Joe Wright has brought in Rooney Mara to play Tiger Lily in the movie version of the Peter Pan story in spite of objections by tens of thousands of movie goers against casting a white American in the role of a Native American character.

The live action movie version of Peter Pan by Joe named Pan will have the white actress Mara to play the lead Tiger Lily. Fans and critics that believe Tiger Lily originally depict a Native American character produced a petition to Warner Bros with 94,000 signatures to reconsider the female cast Mara, according to Reuters.

Peter Pan, a century old play and novel by Scottish writer J.M. Barrie's refers Tiger Lily and her tribe as "pickaninny" warriors, the term generally used to describe dark skinned people. Wright said that he chose Mara over other actresses because she has "a regal quality and also she's a little bit frightening - you really wouldn't mess with Rooney."

Wright who was firm about his cast despite various odds said Reuters on Thursday that "I was particularly keen to make sure Tiger Lily wasn't a damsel in distress." He added, "Tiger Lily is the bad warrior who is far more pro-active physically in defeating (evil pirate) Blackbeard than any of the boys. She has all the action sequences."

The director also noted that "When little girls come out of seeing the movie, their favorite character always is Tiger Lily. When asked why, they say 'because she can do anything.' I think she is quite an empowering character for little girls and that to me is really gratifying."

Hugh Jackman plays villain in the upcoming flick Pan and is certainly unrecognizable in his movie character Blackbeard. The villain that likes his character in the movie has another reason to be in love with his role. Jackman noted lately that his wife Deborra-Lee Furness likes the bad boy Blackbeard. He added that "She actually said the Blackbeard, that kind of attitude, that works for her," reported ET Online.