The big news from Hollywood this weekend is that Christopher Walken has signed on to play Captain Hook in NBC’s live adaptation of Peter Pan. The production will follow up on the moderate success of NBC’s first attempt at a live musical adaptation with The Sound of Music. The adaptation, which aired in December and starred Carrie Underwood and Stephen Moyer, earned moderate reviews and great ratings for NBC.

Christopher Walken
Meet your new Captain Hook - Christopher Walken.

Walken is the first name announced on the Peter Pan cast and his involvement raises the bar for the rest of the cast and the production overall. After the announcement was made, he came out with the following: "I started my career in musicals and it's wonderful after all this time, at this point in my career, to be in this classic musical I watched as a child and to work with (producers) Neil Meron and Craig Zadan again after [2007 film adaptation of] Hairspray.

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"It's a chance to put on my tap shoes again," Walken added in his statement.

The network is also excited to have him, as NBC chairman Bob Greenblatt said in a statement: "He's one of the most unique actors in our business. He might really just be a song and dance man at heart... This might be the first tap dancing Captain Hook you've ever seen."

Kristen Bell
The network also wanted Kristen Bell, but due to a scheduling conflict, they are still on the lookout for a Wendy.

According to E!News, Walken isn’t the only A-Lister that NBC has tried to recruit. Kristen Bell had reportedly been tapped for the role of Wendy, but she couldn’t be involved because of a schedule clash with Showtime’s House of Lies. The musical is being produced by Oscar veterans Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, so the whole thing seems to be in good hands. Peter Pan is set to air on December 4, 2014 in what may become a holiday tradition for NBC.