I think it’s safe to say everyone has had some degree of contact with The Nutcracker at least once in our lives. Originally written as a short story by E.T.A. Hoffmann, it was the Alexander Dumas adaptation of The Nutcracker that Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, as well as choreographers Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, chose to adapt into a theatrical ballet. Since then, the story and score of the Nutcracker have been adapted numerous times over the past century, and the characters of this story (Clara, the Rat King, the Sugar Plum Fairy) being engrained in pop culture. So with so many remakes and re-tellings of such a well known story, how does one make it stand out as fresh and unique again? Add Morgan Freeman to the cast, of course.

Earlier this week, a an article from Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that Morgan Freeman is currently in negotiations for the role of Drosselmeyer in the upcoming live-action Disney adaptation of The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. The story centers around a young girl named Clara, who receives a toy Nutcracker on Christmas Eve from her Godfather Drosselmeyer. At the stroke of midnight, however, the toys and dolls, and even the Nutcracker himself, come to life, with Clara herself shrinking down to their size. After witnessing the Nutcracker lead a toy army against an army of rats, lead by the Rat King, the Nutcracker takes Clara to a magical kingdom inhabited by dolls and ruled by the Sugar Plum Fairy.

Considering how Morgan Freeman has the voice of God, it kind of makes sense he would be playing the role of the one with the ability to breath life into all the toys. Starring alongside him will be Mackenzie Foy (Breaking Dawn, Interstellar) as Clara, as well as professional ballet dancer Misty Copeland, who be playing the lead ballerina. The film is to be directed by Lasse Hallstrom (Chocolat, My Life as a Dog) and will be released in 2019, most likely around the holiday season.