Blanchett, James Set for Disney's CINDERELLA; Branagh to Direct

Actress Lily James (Downton Abbey) has been cast as Cinderella in Disney's upcoming live-action interpretation of the beloved classic tale. The film is being directed by Sir Kenneth Branagh and stars Cate Blanchett as the iconic evil stepmother.

Additional announcements regarding Cinderella are expected in the coming weeks.

Blanchett, an Academy Award-winning actress, came to international attention for her role as Elizabeth I of England in the 1998 biopic film Elizabeth, for which she won British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and Golden Globe Awards, and earned her first Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. She appeared as the elf queen Galadriel in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy from 2001 to 2003.

In 2004, Blanchett's portrayal of Katharine Hepburn in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator brought her numerous awards, including an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Blanchett's other films include Babel (2006), Notes on a Scandal (2006), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008). She most recently appeared in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, and is currently filming George Clooney's The Monuments Men. Blanchett has also signed on for Disney's reimagining of Cinderella, which Kenneth Branagh is set to direct.

Lily James starred in Fast Girls, the 2012 movie directed by Noel Clarke centered around a group of young female athletes competing in the World Championships. Previous to this, James played the role of Korrina in Warner Brothers the Wrath of the Titans, where she appeared alongside Sam Worthington, Rosamund Pike, Toby Kebbell, Bill Nighy, Ralph Fiennes, and Liam Neeson.

Her television credits include Poppy in the fourth season of ITV's Secret Diary of a Call Girl starring Billie Piper, the BBC production of Richmal Crompton's Just William with Daniel Roche and the third season of popular British series Downton Abbey.