Beauty and the Beast (2017): Emma Watson is coming back for yet another magical ride on the big screen featuring in the upcoming American romantic fantasy musical film Beauty and the Beast. The Walt Disney Pictures production is slated to be a live-action remake of Disney’s 1991 animated film of the same name, itself an adaptation of Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont’s fairy tale. Beauty and the Beast (2017), directed by Bill Condon and written by Stephen Chbosky and Evan Spiliotopoulos, has been a considerable topic on the movie front with a large section of the younger audiences waiting eagerly for the movie to roll out. In addition to that, another USP of Beauty and the Beast (2017) is easily the involvement of Emma Watson, who has become a fan favourite since her portrayal of Hermione in the Harry Potter franchise. Watson announced that she would play the lead character, Belle, in the film in January 2015.
The 26-year-old actor turned down the opportunity to star in the 2015 live action adaptation of Cinderella, which grossed more than half a billion dollars worldwide. The part went to fellow Brit Lily James. In a new interview with E!, Watson said that, while she didn’t know she’d sign on to star in Beauty and the Beast at the time she turned down Cinderella, she thought the new character was more relatable: “When they offered me Belle, I just felt the character resonated with me so much more than Cinderella did.” Emma Watson will be accompanied by Dan Stevens of Downtown Abbey fame, who plays the role of the Beast in the film.
Beauty and the Beast (2017) Plot
The official synopsis for Beauty and the Beast (2017) reads
Belle (Emma Watson) is a young woman who is taken prisoner by a Beast (Dan Stevens) in his castle in exchange for the freedom of her father Maurice. Despite her fears, she befriends the castle’s enchanted staff and learns to look beyond the Beast’s exterior to recognise the true heart and soul of the human Prince within just as a hunter named Gaston is on the loose to take Belle for himself and hunt down the Beast at any cost.
Beauty and the Beast (2017) Cast
- Emma Watson as Belle
- Dan Stevens as Beast
- Luke Evans as Gaston
- Kevin Kline as Maurice
- Josh Gad as Le Fou
- Ewan McGregor as Lumière
- Stanley Tucci as Cadenza
- Ian McKellen as Cogsworth
- Emma Thompson as Mrs. Potts
- Audra McDonald as Garderobe
- Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Plumette
- Nathan Mack as Chip
- Adrian Schiller as Monsieur D’Arque
- Hattie Morahan as Agathe
Beauty and the Beast (2017) Release Date
The first official presentation of the film took place at Disney’s three-day D23 Expo in August 2015. Earlier in March 2015, it was announced that Beauty and the Beast (2017) has been scheduled for a March 17, 2017, release date in the United States in standard, Disney Digital 3-D, RealD 3D and IMAX 3D formats.
