Emma Watson may not be active in the music scene but she certainly doesn’t shy away from the idea of being part of the scene through her role in a music video or a musical film. Having lent her vocals to Ben Hammsersley’s song “Pantomime” with Ólafur Arnalds, it seems like the “Harry Potter” actress is ready to showcase her singing skills through a movie soon.
Which movie are we talking about, you ask? It’s none other than the upcoming live-action adaptation of the Disney classic, “Beauty and the Beast”.
Following the success of the live-action adaptation of “Maleficent”, Disney is set to bring another Disney classic to the big screen soon. Director Bill Condon (of “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn” fame) is set to direct the film while Stephen Chbosky will pen the script based on the draft written by Evan Spiliotopoulos. Chbosky previously directed Watson in the coming-of-age film, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower“. David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman will produce the film under their Mandeville Films production company.
However, the movie will not hit cinemas until the release of the new “Cinderella” movie in March 2015 and Jon Favreau‘s “The Jungle Book in 2016.
Best known for her role as Hermione Granger in the “Harry Potter” films, Watson is set to star in the Disney movie as Belle, the lead protagonist of the story. Back in 2011, Watson was courted to co-produce and star in Guillermo del Toro’s version of “Beauty of the Beast” with Warner Bros but both of them exited the project in June 2014. At that time, Disney also announced that Bill Condon has signed on to direct a live-action adaptation of the same Disney classic.
After Watson’s departure from del Toro’s version of the Disney classic, a source told TheWrap that the Disney began to court Watson to star in their version with del Toro’s blessing
The actress announced her involvement in the project on Facebook as soon as TheWrap broke the news.
Disney has not announced the release date of the film yet and the search for Beast is still underway. Watson is rumoured to appear in a musical comedy called “La La Land” and she will be seen next in Alejandro Amenabar’s thriller “Regression” with Ethan Hawke.
What do you think of the casting news? Aren’t you excited to see her singing for the first time in a movie? We can’t wait to hear! 
(Source / Featured image)