Casting news for Disney’s Nutcracker is coming left and right, and Morgan Freeman’s name is the latest to be associated with the film.
In March we reported that Disney would be developing a liveaction Nutcracker film, with Oscar-nominated Director Lasse Hallstrom in charge.
Now, we’re also getting casting news regarding the movie. According to Variety, the latest news is in the form of Morgan Freeman being in talks to join the project to star opposite Misty Copeland and Mackenzie Foy. There’s no word yet on what role he’d be taking on.
On Wednesday, Variety also reported Foy’s inclusion in the movie in the role of Clara, the little girl who receives the nutcracker doll for Christmas.
Copeland’s role, meanwhile, is that of the lead ballerina in what appears to be the only dance number in the film.
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.