The rule of reboots should be that you only tamper with below average stuff, but that’s not how the real world works. Fortunately, while most directors wave off skepticism when it comes to why a studio is dredging up a beloved movie to reintroduce it into the wild, Bill Condon (rightfully) recognizes Disney’s 1991 animated Beauty and the Beast as “perfection” while offering a reasonable excuse for why he was thrilled to mess around with it.
In this behind-the-scenes look (via Entertainment Weekly) at the live-action version set for March 2017, we briefly get to hear Condon’s thinking on the matter after listening to Dan Stevens and Emma Watson charm their way into our hearts during a table read. It’s hard to argue with the filmmaker’s point about technology as gorgeous, sweeping shots of the film play out.
As if you needed a reminder, the personnel involved in this thing is insane. Condon is a veteran storyteller with a pedigree that matches the screenwriting Oscar that’s on his mantel (he won in ’99 for Gods and Monsters), and it’s especially exciting to see him look to this romantic fantasy world directly after delivering the magical Sherlock reinvention of Mr. Holmes. As for the actors, Stevens and Watson are dynamite, and when you toss in Luke Evans as Gaston, Ewan McGregor as Lumiere, and Ian McKellen as Cogsworth, plus Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Emma Thompson, Josh Gad, Stanley Tucci, Kevin Kline, and Audra McDonald, you start to see how bonkers this production is… before we can even talking about Alan Menken doing the music.
Yes, this thing is stacked. One more reason not to worry too much about perfection being messed with. Of course, it’s also the next installment of Disney’s extensive game plan to transfer their animated films into the live-action realm. Shout out to the three Untitled Disney Fairy Tale Live Action movies on the release schedule between now and 2019. Cruella looks fun, but when are we getting a live-action Brave Little Toaster?
Watch below as we weigh in on some of the character designs for the live-action Beauty and the Beast.
Featured Image: Disney
