Keira Knightley to Star as Sugar Plum Fairy in 'The Nutcracker' Live-Action Film
By Justin Kroll
Keira Knightley will star as the Sugar Plum Fairy in Disney’s retelling of The Nutcracker.
Mackenzie Foy is on board to play Clara, with Misty Copeland and Morgan Freeman also attached to the movie.
The live-action film — based on E.T.A. Hoffmann’s 1816 story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King — is titled The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. In the pic, one of Clara’s Christmas toys — a Nutcracker doll — comes to life and battles the evil Mouse King with seven heads.
Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and choreographers Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov turned Alexandre Dumas’ adaptation of the classic story into the The Nutcracker ballet in 1892.
Lasse Hallström will direct the upcoming film from Ashleigh Powell’s script. Mark Gordon is producing, while Lindy Goldstein is executive producing. Sam Dickerman and Allison Erlikhman are overseeing the project for Disney. Sara Smith is working on behalf of the Mark Gordon Company.
Knightley has a long history with the studio that began with the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. She was most recently seen in the Working Title ensemble disaster film Everest. Her New Line dramedy Collateral Beauty, also starring Will Smith and Kate Winslet, opens this December.
