In The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, Misty Copeland is feeling footloose and fancy free.
Copeland, who made history as the first African American female principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre, was the only choice to play the Ballerina Princess in Lasse Hallström and Joe Johnston's fantasy film for Walt Disney Pictures. E! News has an exclusive sneak peek at some of her scenes in the movie, starring Ellie Bamber as Louise, Lil Buck as the Mouse King, Eugenio Derbez as the Flower Realm King, Jayden Fowora-Knight as Philip, Mackenzie Foy as Clara, Morgan Freeman as Drosselmeyer, Richard E. Grant as the Snow Realm King, Miranda Hart as Dew Drop Fairy, Keira Knightley as the Sugar Plum Fairy, Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Stahlbaum, Helen Mirren as Mother Ginger and Jack Whitehall as Harlequin.
According to Copeland, being cast in the movie was the opportunity of a lifetime.
"Everyone knows the Nutcracker ballet story, but this new version of Clara and her journey is just so different. I never imagined I would be a part of a film of this magnitude. It's really just a dream come true," she says in the video clip. "The Nutcracker is such a big part of my art form."
Drawing inspiration from E.T.A. Hoffmann's classic story and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's ballet, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms follows Clara on her search for a one-of-a-kind key that unlocks a box containing a gift from her late mother. She begins by following a golden thread, presented to her at Drosselmeyer's holiday party, which leads her to the item—which quickly disappears into an eccentric and mysterious parallel world. It's there that Clara encounters a soldier named Phillip—and together, they must brave the Fourth Realm, home to the evil Mother Ginger, to retrieve her lost key and hopefully restore the peace in the unstable world.
Produced by Larry Franco and Mark Gordon, and written by Tom McCarthy and Ashleigh Powell, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms will premiere Nov. 2 in movie theaters nationwide.