Unlike 1993’s The Nutcracker—which, despite starring Macaulay Culkin, was basically a filmed version of New York City Ballet’s annual production—Disney’s upcoming take on the Christmas classic apparently won’t be heavy on dance. According to reports in Deadline and elsewhere, the Lasse Hallström-directed feature will only have one sequence where those candyland denizens and/or vicious mice can twirl around. The good news is that it will feature the acclaimed ballerina Misty Copeland, who became the first African-American woman to be named a principal dancer at the American Ballet Theater last year. Copeland announced the news by posting a picture of her script to Instagram.
Even if Disney’s live action film—titled The Nutcracker And The Four Realms—is overly treacly, Copeland is exceptionally talented, so her appearance could be enough to turn it around. A documentary about Copeland was released last year, and a biopic about her life is also reportedly in the works.