Krysten Ritter BIG EYES; Sophie McShera CINDERELLA; Dan Stevens THE GUEST

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Krysten Ritter Joins Tim Burton's BIG EYES; DOWNTON ABBEY's Sophie McShera and Dan Stevens Book CINDERELLA and THE GUEST Respectively

By Dave Trumbore

Published Jun 12, 2013

Krysten Ritter Joins Director Tim Burton's BIG EYES; DOWNTON ABBEY's Sophie McShera and Dan Stevens Book CINDERELLA and THE GUEST Respectively.

Here's today's latest casting news:

Krysten Ritter (Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23) has joined Tim Burton's Big Eyes, starring Christoph Waltz and Amy Adams.
Sophie McShera (Downton Abbey) is in negotiations to join Disney's live-action Cinderella, directed by Kenneth Branagh and starring Lily James, Richard Madden and Cate Blanchett.
Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey) has landed a starring role in the indie picture The Guest, directed by Adam Wingard and written by Simon Barrett.

Hit the jump for more on each casting announcement.

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First up from Deadline is news that Ritter is joining Burton's Big Eyes, a biopic of artists Margaret and Walter Keane (Adams and Waltz) who became famous for their portraits of big-eyed children. The story tells of the divide that grows between them when Walter begins taking credit for Margaret's paintings and centers on her journey to find the confidence to reclaim ownership. Ritter will play "DeeAnn, the free-spirited confidante to Margaret who tries to coax her friend to come out of her shell."

Heat Vision reports that McShera is in final negotiations to star in Cinderella as a wicked step-sister, joining the recently-courted Holliday Grainger (The Borgias). This will be a Cinderella story of sorts for McShera, who plays kitchen maid-turned-house cook on Downton Abbey. She and Grainger will play "Drisella and Anastasia, who are constantly ridiculing Cinderella, the orphan girl who with the help of a fairy godmother and some magic overcomes challenges to find a prince and true love." James will play the title role with Blanchett as the evil stepmother and Madden as the dashing prince.

In other Downton Abbey-related news, Variety reports that Stevens will take a darker turn in The Guest. The story centers on a family who takes in a man returning from a tour of duty, but finds out that he is not who he's claiming to be. With V/H/S's Wingard and Barrett involved, there's no telling just what surprises are in store for them. Production is scheduled to start later this summer.