THE NUTCRACKER: Keira Knightley Will Play The Sugar Plum Fairy in Disney's Live Action Adaptation

Not content with remaking their animated classics in live action, Disney is now moving into the world of plays and will adapt The Nutcracker for the big screen in a film called The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. Variety reports that Pirates of the Caribbean star Keira Knightley has signed on to play the Sugar Plum Fairy, while Mackenzie Foy (Interstellar, The Little Prince) will play Clara, a young girl who gets sucked into a battle between toys that come to life and the forces of the evil Mouse King. Misty Copeland and Morgan Freeman are also attached to star.

I went on a field trip to see The Nutcracker in elementary school, but that particular story has never been a Christmastime staple for my family, so I've forgotten all of the details about what happens and even how the Sugar Plum Fairy is involved. Knightley seems like she has the right physicality for a role like this, and I wonder if other people who, like me, aren't really familiar with the story, will embrace a live action film from Disney or if a live action adaptation just won't work for modern audiences.

Lasse Hallstrom is directing the film from a script by Ashleigh Powell, but we aren't sure when filming begins. What do you think? Do you know the story well? Is Knightley a good fit for the part?