Hollywood superstar Keira Knightley is to play the Sugar Plum Fairy in Disney's upcoming adaption of The Nutcracker and the Four Realms.

Adapted from E.T.A Hoffmann's 1816 short story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, the new film is to be directed by Swedish film director Lasse Hallström and is tipped to star little Mackenzie Foy (Interstellar) and Morgan Freeman.

However, don't expect to see Knightley, who rose to international fame starring in Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, getting too comfortable in a pair of ballet shoes. Rather than have Knightley learning the famous 19th century dance and doing a Natalie Portman in Black Swan, most of the dancing duties will fall to famous American Ballet Theatre star, Misty Copeland.

Expect to discover a magical world in which little Clara's Christmas toy, a Nutcracker doll, comes to life and, after defeating the evil Mouse King in battle, whisks her away to a magical kingdom. And listen out for Tchaikovsky's famous 'Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy', which never fails to take our breath away.