Disney Appoints Akiva Schaffer as Director and Dan Gregor & Doug Mand as Writers for Live-Action ‘Cinderella’ Spinoff ‘Stepsisters’
Disney to Explore the Backstory of Cinderella’s Stepsisters in New Film
Disney is set to shine a light on the lesser-known characters in its beloved “Cinderella” tale with a new live-action film titled Stepsisters. This film will focus on Anastasia and Drizella, the stepsisters notorious for their mistreatment of Cinderella, ultimately facing their own consequences when her foot fits the glass slipper.
Akiva Schaffer, director of Disney’s Chip n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers, will helm the project. He is joined by writers Dan Gregor and Doug Mand, who will revise an original script by Michael Montemayor, known for his work on Tangled.
The film is being produced by Ali Bell for Party Over Here, with oversight from Disney Live Action Executive Vice President Jessica Virtue and creative executive Cady Stark. Gregor and Mand previously collaborated on the popular reboot of The Naked Gun.
Schaffer is a long-time collaborator with The Lonely Island’s Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone, whose production company, Party Over Here, has been behind various successful projects. The trio has won Emmy and Peabody awards for their work on Saturday Night Live, and they produced the animated series Digman!, PEN15, and the Emmy-winning I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson, along with the acclaimed film Palm Springs.
In addition to Stepsisters, they are currently in production on the action comedy Protecting Jared, featuring Jason Momoa and Samberg, with filming taking place in Hawaii.
Schaffer is represented by CAA, while Gregor and Mand are repped by UTA and Kaplan/Perrone. Montemayor is represented by IAG and Kaplan/Perrone.
