Brandy returns to the image of Cinderella: here’s what we know at the moment
Get ready for a carriage ride back in time! On Nov. 21, Disney announced that Brandy would be returning to the role of Cinderella, which she played in 1997’s Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella.
It’s time to dust off those glass slippers.
Brandy, who became the first Black actress to portray Cinderella on screen in 1997’s Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella, will return to the role in the upcoming Disney+ original movie The Pocketwatch, the steamer announced Nov. 21.
The latest installment in the Descendants franchise, The Pocketwatch will also star Rita Ora as the Queen of Hearts who, according to the streamer, “rules over the kingdom of Wonderland with an iron fist.”
Brandy and Rita will be joined by previously announced cast members Descendants 2 and Descendants 3 star China Anne McClain, Gabby Duran and the Unsittables’ Kylie Cantrall and High School Musical: The Musical: The Series’ Dara Reneé.
The Descendants movie trilogy, which kicked off in 2015, introduced viewers to two new lands—idyllic Auradon and the ragtag Isle of the Lost—which serve as the respective homes of the teenage descendants some of Disney’s most iconic heroes and villains.
“The bold new story of The Pocketwatch returns to these lands,” according to the streamer, “and also takes audiences through the rabbit hole to the hostile unincorporated territory of Wonderland, a magical, mysterious place made famous in Alice in Wonderland.”
May we suggest avoiding any mysterious mushrooms.
“The expansive new story finds polar opposites Red (Cantrall) and Chloe (Malia Baker) crossing paths at a momentous celebration in Auradon when unexpected chaos breaks out,” the streamer continued.
“In order to prevent an impending coup, they must join forces to travel back in time, via a magical pocket watch created by the Mad Hatter’s son, to stop an event that would lead to grave consequences.”
Brandy starred alongside the late Whitney Houston, who played Fairy Godmother, in 1997’s Cinderella. In a 2021 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Brandy reflected back on Whitney being the one to recommend her for the role, saying, “It just was unbelievable because I spent my whole childhood wanting to sing and nobody could have told me in a million years I would be working with her.”
She added, “[Whitney] had a magic about her that I felt like I could just be myself. When you’re working with your idols, you don’t know how to act, but she made me feel safe to be myself and really give the character all I could give.”
To prepare for The Pocketwatch, you can watch Brandy in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella, now streaming on Disney+.
