Helen Mirren is the latest in a long line of well-known actors joining Disney’s live-action adaptation of The Nutcracker and the Four Lands.
Back in March, we told you Disney was developing a live-action Nutcracker film, with Oscar-nominated Director Lasse Hallstrom at the helm.
On Thursday, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Helen Mirren is in talks to join the project as well.
Mirren will play Mother Ginger, whose costume will be sure to give everyone plenty to talk about when the time comes. In the play, Mother Ginger’s children, the Polichinelles, emerge from under her hoop skirt to dance across the stage.
Meanwhile, Mackenzie Foy will play the main character, named Clara, while Misty Copeland takes on the role of the lead ballerina. Morgan Freeman is attached in a currently unknown role, and Keira Knightley will play the Sugar Plum Fairy.
Disney has titled the project The Nutcracker and the Four Lands, which is both an adaptation of the ballet by Peter Tchaikovsky, as well as the story by E.T.A. Hoffmann called The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.
The story is about a girl named Marie (often changed to Clara) who is presented with an ordinary nutcracker doll on Christmas Eve. However, at midnight, she’s transported to a magical world where the dolls are fighting a war against the mice, who are led by the seven-headed mouse king.
The already impressive Nutcracker cast has gained another fantastic addition with Mirren, and who knows which actor may be added next! Stay tuned.