Kenneth Branagh is hiring another previous collaborator to work on Cinderella. This time, the director is in negotiations with Thor’s Stellan Skarsgard to join his new take on the classic fairy tale for Disney{
If he makes a deal, Skarsgard will be playing the grand duke, a senior adviser to the king who apparently has his own, less-than-friendly agenda. After all, every King seems to have at least one traitrous advisor.
It’s an odd tweak for the tale, which will also spin the more traditional yarn of a young woman (Lily James) who meets her handsome prince in the shape of Richard Madden.
Helena Bonham Carter is on board as the fairy godmother, with Cate Blanchett as Cinders' wicked stepmother, and Sophie McShera and Holliday Granger as the stepsisters.
Branagh is set to kick off shooting this autumn in London. Skarsgard is back on Thor duty for The Dark World, which invades our screens on October 30. He’ll also be seen in the latest version of Romeo & Juliet and in Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac.