The cast of the Disney Nutcracker movie continues to grow as The Hollywood Reporter brings word that Academy Award winner Helen Mirren is eyeing the part of Mother Ginger. The news breaks on the heels of word that Keira Knightley is set to take on the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy alongside Mackenzie Foy as Clara, Morgan Freeman as Drosselmeyer and American Ballet Theatre dancer Misty Copeland as the lead ballerina role for the film’s dance sequences. Titled The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, the film hails from director Lasse Hallstrom (My Life as a Dog, The Cider House Rules) and screenwriter Ashleigh Powell.
Mark Gordon is producing the Disney Nutcracker movie, with Lindy Goldstein executive producing.
Technically, the Disney Nutcracker movie marks another live-action remake of a classic Disney animation, as a famous segment in 1940’s Fantasia was built around the ballet. More recent live-action attempts on adapting the story include George Balanchine’s 1993 The Nutcracker, featuring Macaulay Culkin, and 2009’s Nutcracker in 3D starring Elle Fanning, Nathan Lane and John Turturro.
