British actor Dan Stevens is one of the breakout stars of Downton Abbey, and after impressing critics and movigoers alike in The Guest last year, he’s now in talks to play the Beast/Prince in Disney’s upcoming live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast. If he signs on, Stevens will join Emma Watson, the movie’s Beauty.
It was also revealed earlier today that The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies and Dracula Untold star Luke Evans has entered talks to play the villainous Gaston, and the cast is shaping up to be very impressive.
Beauty and the Beast is the latest animated classic to get a live-action makeover. Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty) was met with a positive response last year, and Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella is also looking good.
Bill Condon is directing what is so far shaping up to be an all British cast, and while plot details are currently being kept under wraps, it’s believed that it will follow the classic cartoon (but with a few modern twists).
As you will more than likely know, Beauty and the Beast tells the story of a young woman (Watson’s Belle) who takes the place of her father as a prisoner in a monstrous being’s castle, only to tall in love with the creature, who turns out to be a prince. It’s not clear whether not this version will be a musical just yet.
However, it more than likely will, as Watson was said the following when she was cast in the project back in January. “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.’…Time to start some singing lessons.” Is Stevens a good choice for Beast?
