Peter Pan's new movie experiences a setback as Rooney Mara casting as Tiger Lily was received with online backlash. A petition was even launched against Warner Bros to force the production outfit to cast actors of color.

At least 5,000 people have already signed the petition demanding that Warner Bros refrain from casting white actors in non-white roles, such as the case of Rooney Mara ("The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo") in the new "Peter Pan" origins movie, said The Guardian.

Rooney Mara is described to be pasty white while Tiger Lily in the original JM Barrie 1904 play was a Native-American, said The Guardian. Her competitors for the part were Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o ("12 Years A Slave") and Adèle Exarchopoulos of France ("Blue is the Warmest Color") who is also Caucasian.

The petition said: "The casting choice is particularly shameful for a children's movie. Telling children their role models must be all white is unacceptable."

But Kevin Fallon of The Daily Beast wrote that "Peter Pan" is fraught with racism epitomized by the 1953 Disney movie where Tiger Lily's father was painted entirely in red.

"One would hope that they'll nix the whole racist song, but then again, one also hoped that after Johnny Depp offended millions with his portrayal of Tonto, we would never be in this 'Is Rooney Mara Too White to Play Tiger Lily in Pan?' situation in the first place," he added.

But he also said that casting Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss in the "Hunger Games" also drew violent reactions but looked how that turned out. Kevin Fallon said that maybe Rooney Mara nailed her audition for the new "Peter Pan" movie and that's why she's chosen.

Apart from Rooney Mara, the "Peter Pan" movie cast also include Hugh Jackman as Captain Blackbeard and Garret Hedlund as Captain Hook. The film will be helmed by Joe Wright who also directed "Atonement."