Idina Menzel in Talks to Play Evil Stepmother in ‘Cinderella’

By Dave McNary

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Idina Menzel is in negotiations to join Camila Cabello in Sony’s “Cinderella,” portraying the evil stepmother.

The news comes a day after the revelation that Billy Porter was in talks to play ’s fairy godmother. Sony had no comment on either possible casting.

The stepmother role, also known as Lady Tremaine, is based on the original character from the Cinderella fairy tale created by Charles Perrault in the 17th century.

Menzel is best known as the voice of Elsa in Disney’s “Frozen,” in which she sang the Academy Award winning song “Let It Go.” She won a Tony for “Wicked” and was nominated for “Rent” and “If/Then.” She reprises her voice role in the upcoming “Frozen 2” and appears in A24’s upcoming crime drama “Uncut Gems.”

Cabello came on to the project in April with “Blockers” director Kay Cannon attached to helm and pen the script. Cabello will be involved in the music for the project, which grew out of an original idea from James Corden. The film will be produced by Corden and Leo Pearlman through their Fulwell73 banner.

The new “Cinderella” will be a music-oriented version of the traditional tale of the orphaned girl with an evil stepmother. Disney’s 1950 animated drama has received two live-action remakes: 1997’s iteration starring Brandy and Whitney Houston and Kenneth Branagh’s 2015 version with Lily James. The latter grossed $543 million worldwide.

The news about Menzel was first reported by Deadline Hollywood.