Disney's Nutcracker: Misty Copeland joins cast

Misty Copeland has joined the cast of Disney’s live-action version of The Nutcracker.

Copeland teased her part with a photo on Instagram of the film’s script and the hashtag #MoreToCome. She was promoted to principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre in June 2015, making history as the first African-American woman awarded that rank. The dancer has since taken the country by storm performing with Yo-Yo Ma on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, teaching Jimmy Kimmel ballet, and she even has her own biopic movie in the works.

The Nutcracker story has been famous for centuries with Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s renowned music. The iconic holiday tale centers on a young girl whose Nutcracker comes to life on Christmas Eve to defeat the Evil Mouse King and whisk her away to the Land of Sweets.

Lasse Hallstrom (Chocolat) is slated to direct The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. Ashleigh Powell wrote the script based on E.T.A. Hoffmann’s short story, “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.”

See Copeland’s Instagram below.