Guillermo Del Toro To Direct Emma Watson In New ‘Beauty And The Beast’
Last summer, Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth) was quoted saying that he’d love to direct Harry Potter actress Emma Watson in a live-action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast. Well, it seems that this project is about to make a big leap forward toward filming as Variety reports that Watson is in final talks to star in the Warner Brothers movie. Additionally, scribe Andrew Davies (Bridget Jones’s Diary) has been commissioned to write the script off del Toro’s treatment.
If you somehow managed to have never heard of Beauty and the Beast, the fairy tale centers on Belle, a young girl who is kept captive in the palace of a hideous creature, a former prince turned into a monster by a curse. We are seeing a big resurgence of fairy tale movies as of late but at least, this isn’t going to be yet another Snow White movie… More significantly, it’s going to be a blast to see del Toro back behind the camera after a nearly five-year layoff.
The Mexican filmmaker is currently shooting the highly anticipated blockbuster Pacific Rim, which will hit theaters next year. From there, it’s likely that Beauty and the Beast would be his next pic. The director was previously associated with the adaptation of The Hobbit but eventually had to move on after the massive delay due to MGM’s bankruptcy. Meanwhile, this is another solid step forward for Emma Watson, who was recently cast in the drama Your Voice in My Head, her first leading role since the end of the Harry Potter saga.
Are you a fan of Guillermo Del Toro? Emma Watson? Leave your thoughts below!
35 Comments
Not only will it be awesome to see Watson in this kind of role (I think it fits her almost perfectly), but can you imagine how amazing the art direction is going to be for this film? Oh dear lord, the sets are going to be out of this world.
Yea, just thinking of what he did with Pan’s Labyrinth, it’s going to be amazing visually.
this is very interesting news. especially in regards to the news I posted today about another Beauty and the Beast project in the making. Perhaps we’ll have another fairytale movie contest month like the upcoming Mirror Mirror vs. Snow White & the Huntsman, if this film releases around the same time as the other project.
Ahaha it’s ridiculous, it’s like they are all doing the same things at the same time!
Yes, but if I were the other “Beauty and the Beast” project, I’d be worried!
Guillermo Del Toro helming a version of anything I’m thinking of adapting = walk away!
Interesting. If Emma can pull this off it will be amazing
I don’t know if it’s just me but I have a hard time picturing Emma Watson in any role or knowing what she can do
I think she was pretty good in the Harry Potter films, so i think she will do fine.
Yea she improved a lot beginning with Half-Blood Prince. Just saying I can’t really picture her in any other role because she’s only played Hermione for such a long period of time and she is basically getting her 2nd/3rd role right about now.
Well, i think if anyone can help her get over that its Del Toro
Given how ahead-of-its-time the Cocteau version was, I’d imagine that Del Toro has something like that in mind. And Emma Watson fits that role like a glove.
With just about any other director, I’d be rolling my eyes, but this is right up Del Toro’s alley.
Yea you are totally right. Anyone else making a Beauty and the Beast live-action movie would sound almost ridiculous but with del Toro, I’m totally intrigued.
Considering that the man frequently collaborates with Ron Perlman, it’d be nice to see Del Toro bring in Perlman to reprise his beast role.
Ahah but the age difference would be super-creepy!
Let’s face it, if you came across Emma Watson in the streets, you wouldn’t look twice. I’m not saying she is homely, she has fairly pleasant facial features, but to have her play Belle and pass her as beautiful is a stretch.
I’m excited for Del Toro though.
I don’t really disagree that she is a bit plain Jane, Gibbs but as you say, she is pretty enough so I don’t really see the problem with her casting.
Plain? Homely? The girl is a knock out. Trust me, I would definitely look more than twice.
There’s this magical thing called make-up.
Ha!
Hasn’t this been posted before? I swear I’ve written about this. Anyways as I have been saying for months now, this is perfect! This is exactly what Emma Watson should be doing (she is so pretty). And yaay Del Toro! I want Matthew Goode to be Beast.
As stated above, it was “rumored” last summer with Del Toro saying he was interested in having Watson play Belle in his project. Obviously, this has come a long way from a few notes on a restaurant napkin to actually being on the verge of production.
Ok I might watch if Matthew Goode is playing Beast
I think this will be awesome. Plus, it will definitely give del Toro more range into a romantic film while he might create an amazing beast. And having Emma Watson in the film is also a plus.
Interesting… I am up for a bit of this for sure. I would love to see Del Toro’s vision on this story
Beauty and the Beast! Hansel and Gretel. Snow White. They are all making a return!
Ahh! Forgot about Hansel and Gretel. The Fairytales are making a comeback. Just as the news announced this morning that fewer parents are reading fairytales to their children as they’re a little too “scary”.
Sadly, it’s only the most well known ones. What about the dozens/hundreds of lesser known ones??
I’m slowly losing track of all the fairytale-esque films we’re getting this year and soon. 2 Snow Whites, 2 Beauty and the Beasts and a Jack and the Beanstalk.
I think I’m looking forward to this, solely down to Guillermo’s involvement. Though I’m a bit wary. I love the design that Del Toro brings to his film, but they all seem to have the same look about them. I do love that look, I’m wondering if he can do anything slightly different.
I know what you mean. Hopefully, a five-year layoff will have added something refreshing to the visuals we saw in Pan’s Labyrinth and Hellboy II
Good stuff. GDT always gets me interested in just about anything, and just as with Radcliffe’s post-Potter career I’m curious to see what Ms. Watson does now that the franchise is finished. Connecting with GDT doesn’t seem like a bad move at all.
Now, I wonder if Guillermo will plug Perlman as the Beast, even though he’s already done it before.
I kinda doubt it. They will probably go with someone much younger for the box office appeal.
They could always put Perlman in the make-up and have some young stud pop out after the transformation.
Actually my wife said they should get Steve Buscemi. That way they could save on the make-up budget since he would not need any.
Ha!
Should be a fun pairing, but is another Beauty and the Beast adaptation really necessary?
I don’t personally mind it but I’ve only seen the Disney animation many, many years ago.
I am completely on board with this. Del Toro is a superb director, and I agree with Red about the sets, they will be stunning!
I’m looking forward to seeing Watson take centre stage, too.
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