With Ella stepping into the crystal stiletto and the story falling perfectly into place, the fairytale has long belonged to her, a destiny shaped since Charles Perrault’s classic over seven decades ago, along with its 2015 revival starring Lily James and Richard Madden. But just for a moment, imagine what if it were not Cinderella, but Anastasia or Drizella who fit the slipper? How differently would the story have unfolded? It seems that the idea is now taking centre stage, as Akiva Schaffer sets out to bring a new twist to the Cinderella world with the upcoming spin-off, Stepsisters.

So, what happens when the story is no longer about the girl who escaped… but the ones who were left behind?

Turning the lens towards the stepsisters, Anastasia and Drizella, the characters who long stood quietly in Cinderella’s shadow, now finally seem set to step into their own spotlight, as The Walt Disney Company once again revisits its classic fairytale, expanding the very world once brought to life by Lily James and Richard Madden in the 2015 film.

With Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers director Akiva Schaffer stepping into his own glass slipper to helm the spin-off Stepsisters, the screenplay will be written by Dan Gregor and Doug Mand, based on an original script by Michael Montemayor, as the story shifts its focus towards the sisters rather than Ella. However, Stepsisters has yet to announce a release date and its casting members.

Meanwhile, as while this may feel like a bold turn, the idea is not entirely unfamiliar. Back in 2007, Disney explored a similar “what if” in Cinderella III: A Twist in Time, where the story flipped its fate and saw one of the stepsisters claim the prince instead, proving that even in a world built on magic, the story could always be rewritten.

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So, as Disney turns its spotlight toward the once-shadowed stepsisters, is the studio once again leaning further into its rarely explored villain lens?

As Disney prepares to bring Stepsisters into the spotlight, the studio has long revisited its classics through different lenses, though only occasionally allowing its villains to take centre stage. One of the most defining shifts came with Maleficent, where the Sleeping Beauty tale was retold through the eyes of the so-called evil fairy, by Angelina Jolie in 2014.

However, what truly stayed with audiences was not the hero; it was the villain, someone they could understand, someone who was once kind but shaped by circumstances, proving that villains are not born, but sometimes made. Much like in Cinderella, where the stepsisters were portrayed as striving to fit into ideals of beauty, while Ella was shown as effortlessly flawless, leaving little space to question the story from their side.

Meanwhile, the love for Maleficent has echoed so strongly that the franchise has already moved forward with Maleficent 3, signalling how deeply audiences connected with its villain-led narrative. Following this shift, Disney also explored this darker lens with Cruella, where Emma Stone transformed a once one-dimensional character into a story of ambition and identity, proving that Disney’s fairytale world is no longer just about heroes, but those who once stood in the shadows.

However, as Stepsisters steps into the spotlight, Disney’s fairytale world seems ready to once again blur the lines between hero and villain, proving that even the most familiar stories can still be retold from the shadows.

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What are your thoughts on Disney’s Cinderella taking a new twist with Akiva Schaffer’s Stepsisters? Let us know in the comments.