It has now been confirmed that Bill Condon (DREAMGIRLS, THE FIFTH ESTATE) will helm the upcoming live-action adaptation of Disney’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. We talked about the possibility two months ago and now decisions have been made. It was only a matter of time until their animated Best Picture nominee got the treatment; you may have noticed all the rage lately with making fairy tales come to life.
Evan Spiliotopoulos, who is no stranger to spinoffs (TINKER BELL AND THE LOST TREASURE, THE LITTLE MERMAID: ARIEL'S BEGINNING, TARZAN 2), is writing the script. There are no plot details yet, but if you have seen the animated version or your mom’s favorite live-action TV show or even your sisters, you can pretty much guess where they're going with this. With the success of adaptations like OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL, ALICE IN WONDERLAND and MALEFICENT (which is nearing $200 million worldwide in its first week) it’s no wonder Disney is going down this road. CINDERELLA is even going there too next year with Kenneth Branagh directing.
I am curious to see what tone Condon will give the movie and if it will have the musical numbers we all still have stuck in our heads. Whatever happened to Guillermo del Toro’s Beauty and the Beast that was to star Emma Watson? Dude better get a move on!