海角大神

If you thought Disney was done spinning live-action films out of its animation catalog after Alice in Wonderland, think again. Director Tim Burton鈥檚 $1 billion grossing take on Alice (which unfolds as a sequel to Lewis Carroll鈥檚 original novel鈥� sorta)聽opened the floodgates for even more re-imaginings of famous children鈥檚 tales 鈥� and one of them is a live-action treatment of the聽Cinderella聽fairy tale from the House of Mouse.

Cate Blanchett 鈥� who returns as Galadriel in this December鈥檚聽The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey聽- is in talks to become the first cast member signed on for the project, which would feature the Oscar-winner in the iconic evil stepmother role (known as Lady Tremaine in Disney鈥檚 1950 hand-drawn adaptation).

The Cinderella re-telling has been developing over at Disney since 2010, based on a pitch from Aline Brosh McKenna (The Devil Wears Prada, 27 Dresses). Back then, Amanda Seyfried was rumored to be playing the famous gal with glass slippers; however, there is no mention of the Mamma Mia! and Les Mis茅rables聽actress in Deadline鈥榮 scoop about Blanchett being 鈥渋n deep talks鈥� to join the new production (which should be a more conventional fairy tale re-envisioning that Joe Wright鈥檚 Hanna, featuring Blanchett as the 鈥榳icked stepmom鈥�).

Disney has attached ex-music video director Mark Romanek to Cinderella, where he will draw from a screenplay crafted by Chris Weitz (About a Boy, The Golden Compass) based on McKenna鈥檚 pitch. That might sound like a weird mix of creative talent, seeing how Romanek鈥檚 previous feature-length efforts (One Hour Photo, Never Let Me Go) are worlds apart from the fluffy rom-coms and feel-good drama that Weitz and McKenna are known for writing. Then again, Tarsem Singh wasn鈥檛 exactly known for kiddie material before he delivered a bright and bubbly rendition of Snow White with Mirror Mirror (which, arguably, is聽a better riff on the fairy tale than the more-popular Snow White and the Huntsman).

Moreover, Deadline previously described the film as follows:

鈥� The聽re-imaging of the classic tale where the prince is set for a politically arranged marriage, until the evil plan is threatened when the prince meets Cinderella.

That鈥檚 to say, Romanek鈥檚 retelling could fall closer to a 鈥榬ealistic鈥� take on the story (a la Drew Barrymore鈥檚 Ever After: A Cinderella Story) than Disney鈥檚 whimsical and fantastical animated version. Blanchett isn鈥檛 exactly known for signing off scripts unless they have the potential to be something special (yes, that includes聽Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull), so something about McKenna and Weitz鈥� take on the centuries-old story must have been promising enough to secure her commitment.

Perhaps the only significant concern at this point is that Blanchett could steal the show as Cinderella鈥檚 very evil (but also very attractive) stepmother 鈥� as happened with Charlize Theron as the Evil Queen in Snow White and the Huntsman. That will largely depend on who ends up playing the lead and how well-written her role is (say what you will about Kristen Stewart鈥檚 performance in SWATH, but she didn鈥檛 have much to work with).

Sandy Schaefer blogs at Screen Rant.