Dan Stevens Cast as The Beast in BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
Yesterday we learned that Luke Evans would be playing the villain Gaston in Disney’s live-action version of Beauty and the Beast. THR now reports that Dan Stevens (The Guest, Downton Abbey) is in negotiations to join the production. If cast, he will play the Beast/Prince in the story. Stevens will star alongside Emma Watson, who is playing Belle in the film.
Bill Condon (Dreamgirls) is directing the film, which is one of many live-action adaptations that Disney is developing. The next fairy tale film to be released by the studio is Cinderella, which opens on March 13th. So far I’ve been hearing nothing but positive feedback on the film.
The casting for Beauty in the Beast is pretty solid. These are all great actors, and I’m curious to see how their characters will all be portrayed on the big screen. Stevens has definitely got that Prince look and charm, as well as beastly intensity. I assume he’ll do motion capture work for Beast. Evans is pretty easy to imagine as Gaston. He may not have the burliness of the animated version of the character, but he’s definitely got the attitude. As for Watson as Belle... well, she’s perfect.