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Emma Watson to Star in Disney’s Live-Action ‘Beauty and The Beast’

‘Harry Potter’ star to play Belle in the live-action remake to be directed by Bill Condon.

Harry Potter actress Emma Watson will star in Disney’s live-action version of Beauty and the Beast as the lead character Belle.

The studio made the announcement on Monday, saying that production will begin later this year. No release date has been set.

As announced back in June, the film will be directed by Bill Condon (The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 & 2). David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman of Mandeville Films are producing.

The script for the live-action remake was written by Evan Spiliotopoulos and Steve Chbosky. Linda Wolverton wrote the script for the 1991 animated Beauty and the Beast, which was directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise and grossed more than $375 million worldwide, spawning a Broadway play and becoming one of the few animated features to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.

The Beauty and The Beast re-make follows the studio's other live-action updates of animated titles, including Maleficent (2014) and this year's Cinderella, which is set to hit theaters on March 13. A live-action version of Jungle Book directed by Jon Favreau will be released in April 2016. 

Source: The Walt Disney Studios

Jennifer Wolfe's picture

Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.