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Disney's New 'Cinderella' Is Live Action And British

Jiawei Wang |
September 23, 2013 | 3:58 p.m. PDT

Staff Reporter

The first official look at Disney's new "Cinderella" is out. (Photo via f**kyeahkennethbranagh/Tumblr)
The first official look at Disney's new "Cinderella" is out. (Photo via f**kyeahkennethbranagh/Tumblr)
Lily James is starring as "Cinderella" in an upcoming Disney film directed by Kenneth Branagh, with Richard Madden will cast as her Prince Charming, and we've got the first look at the new film.

James is to play Ella, the daughter of a merchant who marries the beautiful but cruel Lady Tremaine. The role of Cinderella went through a revolving door of actresses before settling on Lily James last week. 

Lily definitely looks gorgeous in her blue Cinderella dress, but the silk-like long sleeve half transparent dress looks quite different from that of the classic fairy tale. 

With news of Emma Watson being attached to "Beauty and the Beast," the rumors about Cinderella were popping up everywhere. But the rumors ended when James was officially confirmed as a different princess. 

It has been officially confirmed that the role of the handsome prince classically known as Charming went to the former King of North, Richard Madden of "Games of Thrones." Cate Blanchett has also already been cast as the iconic villainious role of Cinderella’s evil stepmother. 

Helena Bonham Carter is certainly no stranger to fantasy and fairy tale films. There's not just the films she has done with husband Tim Burton, like "Alice in Wonderland," "Big Fish," and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" -- there’s still the Harry Potter films. So it comes as little surprise that Disney has announced that Bonham Carter has officially signed on to play the Fairy Godmother

Director Kenneth Branagh praised his cast, especially its young romantic leads: “It is impossible to think of Cinderella without thinking of Disney and the timeless images we’ve all grown up watching. All those classic moments are irresistible to a filmmaker. With Lily James we have found our perfect Cinderella,” he said. “She combines knockout beauty with intelligence, wit, fun and physical grace. Her Prince is being played by Richard Madden, a young actor with incredible power and charisma. He is funny, smart and sexy and a great match for Cinderella.”

Rumors has it that "Cinderella" is centered on the Prince rather than the Princess, as Prince Charming meets and falls in love with "Cinderella" after turning down a politically arranged marriage. 

Although Disney has being pretty public about the casting, it has been tight-lipped about what will set this live-action Cinderella apart from those that precede it. 

The film will hit theaters through Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures on March 13, 2015. So basically, Disney’s choice of the actors for this fairy tale reboot is: all of the British actors!

Reach Staff Reporter Jiawei Wang here.



 

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