Kenneth Branagh has clearly developed a taste for directing blockbusters, having done exceptional work on Thor and his forthcoming Jack Ryan reboot looking set to deliver the goods, he’s already hard at work on Disney’s live action re-imagining of Cinderella at Pinewood Studios.

Starring Lily James (Downton Abbey) as the title fairytale character, Kenneth Branagh believes they have found their perfect Cinderella and Prince Charming in the shape of Game of Thrones actor Richard Madden;

“It is impossible to think of Cinderella without thinking of Disney and the timeless images we’ve all grown up watching. And those classic moments are irresistible to a filmmaker. With Lily James we have found our perfect Cinderella. 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.”

Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett will portray the stepmother, Lady Tremaine, and in a piece of sublime casting Helena Bonham Carter will play the Fairy Godmother. This will be the first time that Branagh and Bonham Carter have worked together since Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein in 1994. 

Kenneth Branagh did the near impossible with Thor and made a potentially silly superhero movie into a Shakespearian drama. Obviously the writers, cast, producers and thousands of people who worked behind the scenes helped make Thor the success it was, however the director is the person they hang out to dry if a film is a flop. 

Disney revealed some of the details about the movie in a new press release, check out the full synopsis below.

“The story of “Cinderella” follows the fortunes of young Ella whose merchant father remarries following the tragic death of her mother. Keen to support her loving father, Ella welcomes her new stepmother Lady Tremaine and her daughters Anastasia and Drisella into the family home. But, when Ella’s father suddenly and unexpectedly passes away, she finds herself at the mercy of a jealous and cruel new family.

Finally relegated to nothing more than a servant girl covered in ashes, and spitefully renamed Cinderella, Ella could easily begin to lose hope. Yet, despite the cruelty inflicted upon her, Ella is determined to honor her mother’s dying words and to “have courage and be kind.” She will not give in to despair nor despise those who abuse her. And then there is the dashing stranger she meets in the woods. Unaware that he is really a prince, not merely an employee at the Palace, Ella finally feels she has met a kindred soul. It appears as if her fortunes may be about to change when the Palace sends out an open invitation for all maidens to attend a ball, raising Ella’s hopes of once again encountering the charming “Kit.” Alas, her stepmother forbids her to attend and callously rips apart her dress. But, as in all good fairy tales, help is at hand as a kindly beggar woman steps forward and, armed with a pumpkin and a few mice, changes Cinderella’s life forever.”

Also starring Stellan Skarsgård, Hayley Atwell and Sir Derek Jacobi, Cinderella will be casting its spell over audiences, 2015.