Beauty and the Beast is an upcoming 2017 American romantic fantasy musical film directed by Bill Condon and written by Evan Spiliotopoulos and Stephen Chbosky. The film is a live-action adaptation of the 1991 Disney animated musical film, which is based on the fairy tale of the same name by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont. The film stars an ensemble cast that includes Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Emma Thompson, Ewan McGregor, Ian McKellen, Kevin Kline, Josh Gad and Stanley Tucci. Principal photography began at Shepperton Studios in Surrey on May 18, 2015. Filming ended on August 21, 2015. The film is to be released on March 17, 2017, in 3D.
On January 26, 2015, Emma Watson announced that she would be starring as Belle, the female lead. On March 4, 2015, Luke Evans and Dan Stevens were revealed to be in talks to play Gaston and the Beast respectively, and Watson confirmed their casting the following day through tweets. Josh Gad was added to the cast on March 13, 2015 to play LeFou, Gaston's sidekick. Emma Thompson joined the cast on March 16, 2015 to play Mrs. Potts and Kevin Kline was announced to play Maurice, Belle's father. Audra McDonald was cast as Garderobe, the wardrobe, on March 27, 2015.
Ian McKellen was cast on April 10, 2015 as Cogsworth, the Beast's loyal butler, who was cursed into a clock. On April 13, 2015, Gugu Mbatha-Raw was set to play Babette, the feather duster. On April 21, it was announced that Ewan McGregor had joined the cast as Lumière, the candelabra,[6] and later that same day, that Stanley Tucci would be playing Cadenza, a grand piano, an original character created for the film. Susan Egan, who originated the role of Belle on Broadway, commented on the casting of Watson as "perfect". Paige O'Hara, who voiced Belle in the original animated film and its sequels, offered to help Watson with her singing lessons.
Principal photography on the film began at Shepperton Studios in London on May 18, 2015. Principal actors concluded filming on August 21, 2015. Six days later, co-producer Jack Morrissey confirmed that the film had officially wrapped production. In this old tale, Belle is a bright, beautiful and independent young woman who is taken prisoner by a beast in his castle. Despite her fears, she befriends the castle's enchanted staff and learns to look beyond the beast's hideous exterior and animal like anger, realize the kind heart and soul of the prince within. 
