'Peter Pan' sequel to be dark and complex

LONDON, Aug. 21 (UPI) -- The British author penning the sequel to J.M. Barrie's classic "Peter Pan" may end up portraying the youthful hero as his own worst enemy.

Geraldine McCaughrean, 53, is writing the sequel dubbed "Captain Pan," in which she spins Neverland into a more dark and complex world than the original, the Scotsman reported Sunday.

Even more shocking, the newspaper said, when Wendy returns to Neverland 25 years after Barrie's novel ends, she finds Peter has turned into his nemesis who was eaten by a crocodile at the end of the original -- Captain Hook.

"I wanted to explore the good and the dark side of Peter," the author said.

McCaughrean has written more than 130 books and plays and holds three Whitbread Children's Book Awards.

She won an international competition to write the sequel for London's Ormond Street Hospital, which Barrie gave his book rights to in 1929.

McCaughrean's sequel will be published worldwide next summer.