'Beauty and the Beast' Live Action Movie Cast News: Dan Stevens, Luke Evans Join Emma Watson in New Film
The main cast of the live action adaptation of Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" will be mainly English. Emma Watson, famous for her role as Hermione Granger in the "Harry Potter" movies, was cast early this year to play Belle in the movie. Just recently, Dan Stevens of TV's Downton Abbey, was cast to be the Beast, which Watson herself confirmed on Twitter. Luke Evans, who played Bard the Bowman in "The Hobbit," will play the villainous Gaston.
The decision to make a live action movie of one of Disney's well-loved animated movies was said to have come after "Maleficent" fared well in the box office in 2014. According to Screen Rant, Disney started discussions about this project and chose "Beauty and the Beast" because it is "one of the most well-regarded in the history of American animation, holding the distinction of being one of the only animated works to ever be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards."
It was Disney who also chose director Bill Condon to direct the film. Condon is known for his direction of "Twilight: Breaking Dawn," but this director also has considerable experience in directing musicals such as the Oscar-winning "Dreamgirls," which bodes well if Disney wants to include musical segments in the movie. Condon also made a name for himself directing "Gods & Monsters," the James Whale biopic in 1998.
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Disney has not released anything about changes if any in the plot, but some reports are already asking how the movie will deal with the non-human characters in the cast – if they will be real actors or CGI animation.
Pop Sugar asks some pertinent questions such as how musical the movie will be, given that the last two live action adaptations "Cinderella" and "Maleficent" were not musicals. The report hinted that Condon's musical background may just help bring some music into the film.
Disney has not set a release date, but Variety reported that production will start in the latter part of the year.
