Poor old Cinderella. Not only is she horribly mistreated by her stepmother and ugly stepsisters, but when she tries to hop on the live-action fairytale bandwagon with director Mark Romanek as coachman, it vanishes in a puff of creative differences when he leaves the film. But fear not! It appears Disney has found a fairy godmother, or more accurately, godfather to step in, because Kenneth Branagh is in talks to work his magic.

According to Vulture, nothing has been locked in yet, but Branagh is definitely in talks. And finding a director is crucial, since the Mouse House wants to keep Cate Blanchett in place as the wicked stepmother and get the film shooting by the autumn.

This latest take on the Cinderella tale has been in development since 2011, was originally written by Aline Brosh McKenna and most recently redrafted by New Moon’s Chris Weitz.

We’ll see if Branagh signs on, after he proved with Thor that he can handle blockbuster films with fantastical elements. But it’s possible he may need more of a break after finishing/promoting Tom Clancy adaptation Jack Ryan, which hits here on December 26.