We knew about a year ago that Rob Marhsall (‘Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides‘) was up for directing the movie adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim iconic 1987 Broadway musical ‘Into The Woods’. Apparently filming has been coming along quite well and Disney has released an image from the feature: a still of Meryl Streep (‘The Giver‘) in full costume as the witch!
Wow, does she ever look the part of the witch too! So let’s take a refresher of what the film’s going to be about really quick before I go any further. Here’s the film’s synopsis:
Synopsis:
“Into the Woods” weaves together the story of several of the most beloved fairytales (Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel) into the original story of a Baker and his wife who try to reverse a curse on their family in order to have a child, exploring the consequences of the characters’ wishes and quests and their desire for “happily ever after.” With music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book and direction by James Lapine, “Into the Woods” earned 10 nominations at the 1988 Tony Awards, winning three including best score and best book of a musical. The 2002 Broadway revival won a Tony for best revival of a musical.
That is a really interesting twist on bringing classic fairy tales to life. Personally, I like the sound of it. What I really like, though, is the casting line up. Aside from the evil that Meryl Streep is going to clearly be bringing to the big screen, the rest of the film includes a highly star studded cast that includes Emily Blunt (‘Looper‘) playing the Baker’s wife, James Corden (‘Doctor Who’) as the Baker, Anna Kendrick (‘Twilight‘) playing Cinderella and her prince who will be portrayed by Chris Pine (‘Star Trek Into Darkness’).
Also in the film will be Johnny Depp (‘Dark Shadows’) as the Wolf who, of course, has to have a Little Red Riding Hood who will be played by Lilla Crawford. Finally rounding out the cast is Daniel Huttlestone (‘Les Misérables ‘) as Jack from ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ fame, Tracey Ullman (‘Corpse Bride’) as Jack’s mother, Christine Baranski (‘Big Bang Theory,’ ‘Mamma Mia’) as the infamous stepmother, MacKenzie Mauzy (‘The Bold and the Beautiful’) as Rapunzel, and Billy Magnussen (‘Blood Night: The Legend of Mary Hatchet’) as Rapunzel’s prince.
WOW that is a LOT going on in one movie. Fortunately we’re all somewhat familiar with the characters if not their full new take on them. Are you looking forward to this original take on classic fairy tale characters? With a cast like that and an original plot, this could be an extremely fun one to watch!
‘Into the Woods’ will be released on December 25th, 2014 and be directed by Rob Marshall.
Source: Screen Crush