Cate Blanchett has joined the cast of Netflix’s fantasy film “The School for Good and Evil,” alongside stars Kerry Washington, Charlize Theron and Michelle Yeoh, filmmaker Paul Feig said during a conversation at the 6th Annual Women in Entertainment Summit in Los Angeles.
“And actually, we just got Cate Blanchett as now the narrator, so we’re very excited about that,” Feig let slip during the fireside chat, as he listed out the star-studded female-led ensemble. “It hasn’t actually been announced yet — it’s out there.”
The Netflix Original, based on Soman Chainani’s bestselling book series, follows the relationship between two best friends, Sophie (Sophia Anne Caruso) and Agatha (Sofia Wylie) as they are swept into a fairy tale-like world. However, the girls are soon separated, as Sophie is placed under Lady Lesso’s (Theron) tutelage in the School for Evil, while Agatha is taken in by Professor Dovey (Kerry Washington) in the School for Good. The plot centers on their fight to return to each other and adventures in mystical environments.
Its script was penned by Chainani, “Life of Pi” writer David Magee and Feig. Laurence Fishburne, Ben Kingsley, Patti LuPone, Rob Delaney and Kit Young round out the cast. In addition to Feig, producers include Laura Fischer, Jeff Kirschenbaum, Joe Roth and Jane Startz.
“This is the first time I got to create a world from scratch,” the “Freaks and Geeks” creator said, adding, “I read it, and it’s this beautiful story about these two young women and their friendship and how their friendship saves them — going through this crazy experience. And I was like, ‘I’m in.’”
“The School for Good and Evil” completed filming in Belfast and is expected to come to the streamer in the fall, having released a first teaser earlier this month.
A previous version of this story listed Feig as co-creator of “Freaks and Geeks.”