Director Bill Condon has cast the “Harry Potter” actress as Belle in the live-action adaptation
“Harry Potter” alum Emma Watson has closed a deal to star in Disney’s live-action musical “Beauty and the Beast,” TheWrap has learned.
Bill Condon (“The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn”) will direct from a script written by Stephen Chbosky, who directed Watson in “The Perks of Being a Wallflower.” Evan Spiliotopoulos wrote the previous draft of the screenplay.
David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman are producing under their Mandeville Films banner.
Watson is set to play Belle in “Beauty and the Beast,” which is the latest Disney classic to receive a live-action adaptation following “Maleficent,” “Cinderella” and Jon Favreau‘s upcoming take on “The Jungle Book.”
Watson had previously been attached to star in Guillermo del Toro’s “Beauty,” which the director was developing for Warner Bros. before exiting the project in June, when Disney hired Condon. When WB’s version hit a snag, Disney began to court Watson for its own adaptation with del Toro’s blessing, as the studio agreed that Watson would be perfect as Belle, according to a source.
Watson shared her excitement on Facebook as soon as TheWrap broke the news. “I’m finally able to tell you … that I will be playing Belle in Disney’s new live-action ‘Beauty and the Beast’! It was such a big part of my growing up, it almost feels surreal that I’ll get to dance to ‘Be Our Guest’ and sing ‘Something There’. My six-year-old self is on the ceiling — heart bursting. Time to start some singing lessons. I can’t wait for you to see it. Emma xx.”
Disney’s 1991 animated feature “Beauty and the Beast” grossed more than $375 million worldwide and earned a rare Oscar nomination for Best Picture. The timeless tale also spawned a Broadway play.
Best known for playing Hermione Granger in the “Harry Potter” films, Watson has worked hard to establish herself as an actress outside of the blockbuster franchise. She recently starred in Darren Aronofsky’s “Noah” and Sofia Coppola’s “The Bling Ring,” and she also played herself in the hit comedy “This Is the End”
Watson next stars opposite Ethan Hawke in Alejandro Amenabar’s thriller “Regression.” She’s s represented by WME and Markham, Froggatt and Irwin.
We know you’ve been thinking of the formidable Emma Watson as a real-life princess for a good long while now, but she’s about to play one on-screen. Watson has been cast as Belle in director Bill Condon’s upcoming adaptation of Beauty and the Beast.
Who better for Disney’s brainiest, most bookish princess than recent college grad Watson? But if you’re dizzy at the prospect of Watson whirling around in a library full of books, you might want to sit down, because it gets even better. According to reports, while Condon won’t be doing a copy/paste job from the 1991 Disney animated film, he will be using most, if not all, of the songs from the Broadway musical that ran for 13 years, from 1994 to 2007. That’s right, we’re looking at a live-action, big-budget musical starring Emma Watson. Hold on to your candlesticks.
Condon, no stranger to movie musicals as the director of 2006’s Dreamgirls and writer of 2002’s Chicago, is a smart choice to step into this new wave of live-action Disney fairy tale. In his hands, the movie is likely to be more creative than a mere knock-off of the animated version we all know so well. (Though we wouldn’t object to seeing Watson in a yellow ball gown.) But does Watson have the pipes to hold down the lead in a movie musical? Anyone who saw her croon in Noah last year, knows she has a solid vocal foundation to build on, and the emotional expression to make it all, ahem, sing.
The final question we have is who, on earth, should play her Beast? Don’t worry about Gaston, this guy’s got the part locked down.
The Disney film is one of my personal top 5 best animated films and top 5 best musicals. Solid choice for both Director and the lead. Hope they won't dishonor Menken's masterpiece which was the best aspect of the original.£
I didn't said she was ugly, I just don't think she's really attractive especially not for a Disney Princess lel. The biggest joke was Stewart as Snow White Theron didn't only nail the role, she is much much much much more beautiful than Stewart.
Theron didn't only nail the role, she is much much much much more beautiful than Stewart.
