Here's how the "Beauty and the Beast" casting turned out, after months of speculation.
A few months ago, there was widespread talk that "The Place Beyond the Pines" actor Ryan Gosling has been courted by Disney to play Beast alongside 25-year-old British actress Emma Watson, who will play Belle. "Will he or won't he?" That was the question on many people's minds for many weeks. Alas, it was not to be. Fans of Gosling were saddened to hear that the role of Beast won't be played by "The Notebook" star, after all.
Joining the stellar cast of the live action reboot of the Disney animated classic - as Beast - is Dan Stevens. Tweets by both Stevens and Watson confirmed that the former has, indeed, landed the role of the Beast. "Could not be more happy that this man will be Beast!!!" Emma tweeted.
Dan's expressive blue Dan Stevens gained a huge following for playing Matthew Crawley in the British period drama tv series, "Downton Abbey." "Beauty and the Beast" will be Dan's biggest project, to date. Will Dan Stevens be effective in portraying the role of the cursed prince? Many seem to think so. Movie insiders feel he can do justice to playing a monster with a gruff nature whose heart can melt into kindness.
Live action fairytale flicks have been in vogue in recent years. The success of films like "Maleficent" and "Into the Woods" show that people of all ages love fairytale remakes. Disney's "Beauty And The Beast" reboot comes close to the heels of the high-grossing live-action version of another classic fairy tale, "Cinderella."
Some of the other cast members of Beauty and the Beast are Emma Thompson, Kevin Kline, Luke Evans, and Gugu Mbatha-Raw. The latter is a British actress and she'll play Plumette, the maid of the Beast who is turned into a feather duster. Filming will commence during the latter part of this year. The film will be directed by Bill Condon, while the script is written by Stephen Chbosky of "The Perks of Being a Wallflower."
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