The 2021 Cinderella movie will have plenty of things. It’ll have Billy Porter as a genderless “fairy godparent.” It will feature Missy Elliott as a town crier. What it won’t have is a wicked stepmother. Director Kay Cannon clued fans in a while sharing a picture from the set on Sept. 27. “Revelling the time I have left shooting w/ Cinders, [Camila Cabello] & her NOT evil stepmother, [Idina Menzel] (there are no villains in this movie),” she captioned the Instagram post. In the Instagram shot, Camila, 23, smiled wide while posing next to Idina, 49. It seemed the “Senorita” singer was reveling her time on set, as well.
Cinderella marks Camilla’s debut acting role. The film, a “musical comedy that re-imagines the traditional Cinderella story,” per Deadline, features 25-year-old Nicholas Galitzine as Prince Robert, son of Pierce Bronson’s King Rowan. Minnie Driver has been cast as Queen Beatrice, and Charlotte Spencer and Maddie Baillio will play Cinderella’s stepsisters. John Mulaney, Romesh Ranganathan, and James Corden are also among the cast, the latter producing the film through his Fullwell73 company with Leo Pearlman.
Production on the film restarted in August after shutting down in March in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. “Robust safety protocols including widespread and extensive testing” were in place on the set outside of London, England set, per Deadline. Thankfully, the “trickier, large crowd scenes” were shot before the pandemic, meaning that all that was left to shoot was “largely exteriors in several towns and castles.” Actors and crew were reportedly staying in different apartments, and rehearsals were conducted with everyone wearing masks.
During the COVID-19 lockdown, Camila made the best of the pandemic by spending time with her boyfriend, Shawn Mendes. During the early months of the quarantine, the couple was frequently seen going for walks or socially distancing together down in Miami, Florida. The Canadian Shawn decided that he’d rather be in lockdown with his girlfriend than back home in the Great White North, and the move might have helped strengthen their young love.
While Camila is off prancing around in glass slippers with pumpkin carriages, Shawn has been sampling the best cuisine Miami as to offer. “My favorite place to order food from right now currently from Postmates in Miami is Malanga,” the “Stitchers” singers said in a social media video, per WSVN Miami. “During this time, I think it’s incredibly important to take care of each other and order food locally from businesses in your city you live in.”