Emma Watson confirmed to star in Disney live-action version of 'Beauty and the Beast'
 

Emma Watson has been confirmed to star as Belle in a live-action version of Beauty and the Beast, with director Bill Condon (“The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn”) at the helm, announced The Wrap on Monday.

This is a new project by Disney, and not the one the Harry Potter actress was once attached to with Warner Bros., which had Guillermo del Toro (who dropped the project a while ago) directing.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>EXCLUSIVE: HARRY POTTER's <a href="https://twitter.com/EmWatson">@EmWatson</a> set to star as Belle in Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST! <a href="http://t.co/3MYwZuZ2S6">http://t.co/3MYwZuZ2S6</a> <a href="http://t.co/nR5MHwA0Zv">pic.twitter.com/nR5MHwA0Zv</a></p>&mdash; TheWrap (@TheWrap) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheWrap/status/559742583866290176">January 26, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

UPDATE: Emma just confirmed it on her official Facebook and Twitter:

<div id="fb-root"></div> <script>(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js#xfbml=1"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));</script>
<div class="fb-post" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/emmawatson/posts/1011543655531191" data-width="600"><div class="fb-xfbml-parse-ignore"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/emmawatson/posts/1011543655531191">Post</a> by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/emmawatson">Emma Watson</a>.</div></div>

The script will be written by The Perks of Being a Wallflower's author Stephen Chbosky, and the feature itself will be similar to Disney's recent release Maleficent and the upcoming Cinderella, directed by Sir Kenneth Branagh.

UPDATE 2: Disney announced that production will take place later this year:

ok i am just THRILLED that Emma is really signed on to play Belle. i mean talk about perfect casting :woot:

a bit dissapointed that they wont be going with anything Del Toro has done (because thats the other BIG draw of this project) but if they're trying to do a retelling the likes of Maleficent, well i guess its worth looking into. im curious what kind of retelling it would be though-- what Gaston isnt such a big bad bully after all? :lol:

:whaa: THIS IS SO EXCITING !!!! I will most definitely be buying my ticket as soon as they go on sale. Ahem. Emma is forever my queen ahhhhhhh IM SO ESSITED

GASP, MY FAVE DISNEY STORY WITH EMMA WATSON!!! Ahh I am SO happy about this, she is going to be perfect in this role! :loved:

Ooooooooh cool. I'm excited about who is writing the script, too! :whaa:

I agree with ALL OF THE ABOVE. Steven Chbotsky, man. AND EMMA WATSON. *SWOONS*