Emma Watson took to her Facebook page last week to announce that she would be playing Belle in the upcoming live-action Disney iteration of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. This came as somewhat as a curve ball, given that we expected her to be playing Belle in Guillermo del Toro's production of the story. Regardless, there it is and now the next big casting announcement will undoubtedly come in the form of who's playing the titular Beast. Feel free to take this with a grain of salt, but The Tracking Board is reporting that Disney is seeking none other than Ryan Gosling as the Beast who proves that a good kidnapping could lead to true love.
There's no question a big name will be playing opposite Emma Watson, but how they handle it is going to interest me given that the character will be in Beast-mode for the bulk of the film. I just have a hard time believing a face like Gosling's would only be seen in the last few minutes of the film. I wonder if the use of motion-capture is in order? If so, they could just save some money and hire Ron Perlman. That dude is still pretty beastly.
Bill Condon's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST will be released sometime in 2016.
Hear me out: crossover. Beasts of Anarchy.