Belle finally has her annoying Gaston. Luke Evans has been cast in the role in Disney’s live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast.
Evans is currently in talks with the studio, reports Variety. The casting was also reported by TheWrap.
The actor was recently seen in Universal and Legendary’s Dracula Untold and starred as the villain in Fast & Furious 6. He also starred in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, so he knows what it’s like to work on a huge project.
Gaston, of course, was the villain in Disney’s animated version of Beauty and the Beast. He kept hoping to woo Belle, but Belle rejected his advances. Then, he lead the charge against The Beast.
Harry Potter’s Emma Watson confirmed that she will play Belle herself in January. She wrote that the singing lessons she took as a child when she was young should come in handy, so it sounds like the movie might be a musical. Considering that Dreamgirls’ Bill Condon is directing, that doesn’t sound too farfetched.
Disney still hasn’t cast The Beast, but there was a rumor last month that Ryan Gosling was offered the part.
Disney’s next animated movie-turned-live action blockbuster is Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella, which opens next week. The Jungle Book is also in development. A remake of the animation/live action hybrid musical Pete’s Dragon is in the works as well.
The animated Beauty and the Beast, released in 1991, set the bar very high. The movie was a smash hit and became the first animated film ever nominated for the Best Picture Oscar.
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