This Upcoming Cinderella Movie Will Make You Root For Her Stepsister (But With A Twist)

Cinderella is getting a new film adaptation but with some interesting twists, and one will make viewers root for one of her evil stepsisters. The tale of Cinderella is best known for Disney’s animated adaptation, released in 1950, which established the title character as one of the first Disney Princesses. However, the tale goes many, many years back, and there are many versions of it with significant differences between them. Disney’s version was based on Charles Perrault’s tale, but there are others that can give a completely different perspective on Cinderella’s story.

Some versions of the tale of Cinderella lean more towards a more horror vibe, which can give other artists a lot of material. Because of this, it’s not surprising that Cinderella and company have now joined the ongoing trend of making horror versions of family-friendly stories and fairy tales, which was popularized by Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, but one upcoming Cinderella horror adaptation is not just giving this twist to the tale’s tone, but it’s also changing its protagonist, and its source material is also going to make this version more shocking.

The Ugly Stepsister Is A Double Horror Twist On Cinderella’s Tale

The Ugly Stepsister Is A Different Take On Cinderella’s Tale

The next Cinderella horror movie in line is The Ugly Stepsister, directed by Emilie Blichfeldt. According to Variety, The Ugly Stepsister is a horror comedy based on the tale of Cinderella, but instead of following the title princess, it focuses on one of her stepsisters, Elvira (Lea Myren). The Ugly Stepsister will see Elvira going to extreme lengths to catch the prince’s eye and compete with her beautiful stepsister in a kingdom where beauty is everything. Because of this, Blichfeldt describes The Ugly Stepsister as “beauty horror”, which is even more exciting when looking at the source of the story.

As mentioned above, there are many versions of Cinderella’s tale, and aside from Perrault’s, the most famous one is that by the Brothers Grimm. Like most of their tales, the Grimm’s take on Cinderella is more violent and graphic, though it follows the premise everyone knows. In their version, Cinderella’s father isn’t dead, there’s no fairy godmother and, instead, Cinderella gets help from a wishing tree, and the stepsisters aren’t physically ugly, but they have cruel hearts. When the prince arrives with the golden slipper at Cinderella’s home, the stepsisters go to extremes to try to fit into it: one cuts off her toes, and the other cuts off part of her heel.

In a coda added in 1819, during Cinderella’s wedding, doves strike one stepsister on the left eye and the other on the right, and at the end of the wedding, they strike the remaining eyes. Having the Grimm’s version of the tale as its source gives The Ugly Stepsister a lot of freedom to be as graphic and horrific as possible, while also giving a completely new perspective on the tale, Cinderella herself, and Elvira, whose side story will be interesting to see and could potentially be quite sad, as well.

The Ugly Stepsister Isn’t The Only Upcoming Cinderella Horror Movie

Cinderella Has Joined A Current Horror Trend

The Ugly Stepsister isn’t the only Cinderella horror movie coming in the near future, but it is the only one not focused on the famous princess with the glass slipper. Before The Ugly Stepsister is released, Cinderella’s Revenge will arrive. This version follows the same premise as the original tale, but the fairy godmother pushes Cinderella to give her stepmother and stepsisters what they deserve. The trailer for Cinderella’s Revenge also showed some homages to the Grimm’s tale, with one of the stepsisters briefly seen cutting her toes.

Another upcoming Cinderella horror movie is Cinderella’s Curse, in which the title character summons the fairy godmother from an ancient flesh-bound book to seek revenge on her evil stepmother and stepsisters… and the prince. It’s to be seen if these Cinderella horror movies will succeed, but The Ugly Stepsister is one step ahead with its different protagonist and darker source.

Source: Variety.