'Downton Abbey' to be well represented in Kenneth Branagh's Cinderella
The Kenneth Branagh directed Cinderella seems to have raided the Downton Abbey cabinet when it comes to assembling the all-star cast. Upstairs at Downton will be well-represented as Lily James, Downton’s free-spirited, jazz-loving Lady Rose, heads the cast as Cinderella. Not to be left out, downstairs will be well-represented as Sophie McShera, who plays Daisy, the former kitchen maid, now assistant cook at Downton Abbey, has been signed up for the role of Cinderella’s bitter, ugly and mean sister.
Showing their sentimental side, the Radio Times points out that, given Daisy’s luck at Downton of having had a husband who died in the war, been a part of several unfulfilled crushes on incoming Downton footmen and being repeatedly passed over for a promotion, you were kind of secretly pulling for her to be Cinderella weren’t you? Sadly, again, the slipper wasn’t meant to be Daisy’s this time around.
With inspiration coming from Tim Burton’s 2010 remake of Alice in Wonderland, Disney’s Cinderella will re-unite director Branagh with his Thor star, Stellan Skarsgard. The Swedish actor, who was also seen in Good Will Hunting, Pirates of the Caribbean and Momma Mia, is set to take on the role of the king’s advisor, the Grand Duke. Joining Skarsgard and giving the cast a decidedly international flair is Game of Thrones‘s Richard Madden as Prince Charming, Helena Bonham Carter as the fairy godmother, Great Expectations‘ Holliday Grainger will join McShera as wicked stepsister, Anastasia and, finally, Australian-born Cate Blanchett as Lady Tremaine, the evil stepmother.
Cinderella is currently in pre-production and is tentatively set for a 2015 release.
