Emma Watson headlines the official cast of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast
The official cast of Beauty and the Beast has already been announced, but it’s nice to do a round-up of all the ones we’re going to see so that we can at least we’re not getting it mixed up with any other live-action retellings (see The Jungle Book.)
And live-action is becoming popular again among fairy tale storylines, as Disney’s Maleficent and Cinderella have come to show us, despite it’s mixed approvals for both fans and critics (or maybe just me and critics.) I’m definitely looking forward to seeing the direction they’ll take the characters in this time. With Emma Watson at the heart of the story, I have a feeling they’ll give Belle a little more action than she has shown before. Maybe even a punch in the nose to a snotty-nosed stuck-up, yet handsome, jerk? I wouldn’t mind if given the right context.
However, we can only speculate for now how much of the story will change for this live-action retelling. For now, let’s just meet the official cast of Beauty and the Beast.
Emma Watson (Belle)
Emma Watson (Harry Potter series, The Perks of Being a Wallflower) seems like an amicable choice, especially for fans of her previous work.
Dan Stevens (Beast)
Dan Stevens has probably been missed over in Downton Abbey, but now everyone gets to see what all those DA fans have known for a while – he’s beastly attractive!
Luke Evans (Gaston)
He’s one of the best parts of The Hobbit series – it’s no small feat being a dragonslayer, and now he gets to teeter to the other side and go dark with Gaston, the hunky and immensely full-of-himself hunter.
Kevin Kline (Maurice)
Although Kevin Kline’s been involved with an animated series lately (Bob’s Burgers), hopefully they’ll give more depth to Belle’s father Maurice than just being a “crazy old man.”
Emma Thompson (Mrs. Potts)
Another lovely Emma will grace us with her presence in the film. She certainly won’t be acting quite left-of-center like Mrs. Trelawney in the Harry Potter movies, but she’ll definitely be giving more sound advice for the lovely Belle.
Josh Gad (Le Fou)
Now we get to see Josh Gad (Frozen) himself as a dimwitted sidekick instead of just hearing him play a dimwitted sidekick. I have a feeling that Le Fou won’t be as loveable as Olaf, though.
Audra McDonald (Garderobe)
Audra McDonald (Private Practice) gets to play Garderobe. Honestly, I had no idea that wardrobe had a name, but I’m hoping they’ll give Audra more to do than hold clothes and stuff.
