Canonical Peter Pan works

Unlike some franchises, where there are a wealth of works vying to be considered canonical, it's a bit simpler with Peter Pan, because for so long there was only one person who could write Peter Pan stories, and he didn't write very many of them. So this isn't like the "Oz" books, which were an ongoing series with other writers besides L. Frank Baum, or "Star Wars'' which has a whole ecosystem of tie-in novels and games and comics, which may or may not be "canon".

On the other hand, there's the issue that J. M. Barrie wasn't particularly concerned with continuity. When Peter Pan, or the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up premiered, it flatly contradicted The Little White Bird, aging the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up from 7 days to 7 or more years old. And Barrie didn't leave the story alone; he added an epilogue, he revised things for the novel Peter and Wendy, and he continued to tinker with the play for nearly 25 years before the script was finally published.

Barrie gave the rights to the whole Peter Pan universe to Great Ormond Street Hospital the following year. Surprisingly, while they continued to license the play for performances and in the 1950s licensed it for new musicals and Disney's famous animated version, they were content to simply reap the rewards of that gift, and didn't produce or authorize any new stories. It was only when that income was endangered by the expiration of the copyrights that GOSH commissioned a sequel.

Canon
Although GOSH no longer has legal authority over Peter Pan, as the institution to whom Barrie gave the work, they have a moral claim to authorize what is (or isn't) canonical. They haven't published a list, but it's pretty self-evident:


 * Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens (or the corresponding chapters of The Little White Bird
 * Peter Pan, or the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up and its epilogue When Wendy Grew Up: An Afterthought
 * Peter and Wendy
 * Peter Pan in Scarlet by Geraldine McCaughrean

Authorised
There were other works authorized by Barrie or GOSH, but these were using just adaptations of the original stage play's story. As faithful as these may try to be, they must make changes to fit the medium they're working in. It's clear that GOSH wasn't concerned about whether a sequel such as Hook or Return to Never Land was what "really" happened. These works should be considered authorised, but not canonical.


 * Panto versions of Peter Pan have been a staple of British theatre since shortly after the "straight" play debuted. Similarly, Barrie and GOSH have authorised numerous musical versions of the story for the British stage.
 * The Peter Pan Picture Book by illustrator Alice Woodward and Daniel O'Connor (1907, London)
 * The Peter Pan Alphabet by illustrator Oliver Herford (1907, New York)
 * The Peter Pan Alphabet Painting Book by an unknown illustrator (1914)
 * Peter Pan silent film (1924)
 * Peter Pan U.S. musical starring Jean Arthur (1950)
 * Walt Disney's Peter Pan (1953)
 * Since 1953, Disney has produced various adaptations of the story, based on their 1953 animated version. These have included picture books and comic books published by Dell Comics and Gold Key.
 * Peter Pan U.S. musical starring Mary Martin (1954)
 * Hook directed by Steven Spielberg (1991)
 * Hook novelization by Terry Brooks (1991)
 * Walt Disney's Return to Never Land (2002)
 * Peter Pan directed by P. J. Hogan (2003)

See also: Works of J. M. Barrie See also: Peter Pan comics See also: Peter Pan books