D23 : cast & release date of The Nutcracker and the Four Realms announced

There’s been a multitude of news coming out of D23, including details surrounding the highly anticipated “Avengers: Infinity War“, “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” and “A Wrinkle in Time“, “Mary Poppins” and “Dumbo“. Another new project announced is “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms”, a new take on the classic Christmas tale. The live-action film follows a young girl named Clara, who on Christmas Eve receives a nutcracker doll from her godfather. When the clock strikes midnight, the nutcracker doll grows to life size and Clara is transported into a magical fantasy world and finds herself in the midst of a war between gingerbread soldiers and a mouse army.

New footage was released at D23, which is yet to find its way online, but SlashFilm have described the footage:

The trailer we saw opens with a carriage moving through the snow, while the instantly recognizable voice of Morgan Freeman narrates that it is Christmas Eve, a time of mystery. We then see an elaborate Christmas party, with a young girl wandering through the house, following a strange thread. Eventually, her path leads her into a snow-covered land, fantastic and over-the-the-top in its design. There are a lot of patterns in this world and it looks, for better or worse, very similar to Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland remake.

The cast of “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms” has been announced as Mackenzie Foy playing Clara, Keira Knightley to play the Sugar Plum Fairy, Morgan Freeman as Drosselmeyer, Eugenio Derbez to play the Flower Realm King, Helen Mirren as Mother Ginger, Miranda Hart as Dew Drop Fairy, Ellie Bamber to play Louise, and ballerina Misty Copeland will star as The Ballerina.

The four realms as mentioned in the film’s title consist of The Land of Flowers, The Land of Snowflakes, The Land of Sweets and the fourth realm belonging to Mother Ginger. No doubt the footage will be coming soon, but in the meantime check out the logo below. The film is to be directed by Lasse Hallstrom.

The release date of the movie is set at November 2, 2018.