Emma Watson as Belle in Disney’s live-action BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, and more in this week’s casting news roundup

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BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

It seems that Emma Watson hasn’t truly left the world of magic. Today it was announced that the HARRY POTTER star will take on the role of Belle in Disney’s live-action adaptation of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. Watson confirmed the news herself with this message for her Facebook fans:

Emma Watson FB Announcement

No other actors have been announced to star alongside Watson, but the film will be directed by DREAMGIRLS and TWILIGHT: BREAKING DAWN director Bill Condon with a script by THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER’s Stephen Chbosky. Following the success of MALEFICENT, the impending release of the Kenneth Branagh-directed CINDERELLA, and the currently in-production JUNGLE BOOK (directed by Jon Favreau), it’s no surprise that Disney decided to do a live-action BEAUTY AND THE BEAST as well. The film is scheduled for release sometime in 2016.

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STEVE JOBS

Universal Pictures finally unveiled the full cast of the STEVE JOBS biopic, and playing the titular role of the former Apple CEO will be Michael Fassbender, whom we already know can pull off a black turtleneck with ease. Joining him will be Seth Rogen as Jobs’ co-founder Steve Wozniak, Kate Winslet as former Macintosh marketing chief Joanna Hoffman, and Jeff Daniels as former Apple CEO John Sculley, to name a few. The film will be directed by TRAINSPOTTING’s Danny Boyle from a script by THE SOCIAL NETWORK’s Aaron Sorkin. The film was originally rumored to be directed by Sorkin’s THE SOCIAL NETWORK collaborator David Fincher, but that didn’t pan out. Here’s the synopsis of the film from Universal’s press release:

Set backstage at three iconic product launches and ending in 1998 with the unveiling of the iMac, the film takes us behind the scenes of the digital revolution to paint an intimate portrait of the brilliant man at its epicenter.

chrisprattindy INDIANA JONES

Okay, so this one is currently just a rumor, but it’s so much fun that I decided to throw this into the mix. Disney bought the rights to the INDIANA JONES franchise in 2013, so naturally, in their continued quest for world domination, they’ve decided, “Hey, why not reboot INDIANA JONES? Even better, why not cast GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY’s Chris Pratt in the role as the swashbuckling action hero while we’re at it?” Deadline reports that this story is still early and it’s still all speculation at this point, but just look at Chris Pratt in that trademark Indy hat. I would whip watch that in a heartbeat.

Now I’m also a pretty big Indiana Jones fangirl, so I’m still relatively skeptical about a reboot (especially after the disappointment that was INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL). I feel that it’s far too early to completely reboot the series, but at the same time, CRYSTAL SKULL feels like ages ago, so perhaps enough time has passed for new and old fans to be engaged by the charming archaeologist again. Pratt has already proven that he is leading man material with the global smash hit GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, as well as starring in this summer’s JURASSIC WORLD, so there’s really no doubt that he can carry the legacy of everyone’s favorite globe-trotting adventurer.

About the author

NEWS WRITER | Starr is a lover of B movies, a sci-fi/fantasy enthusiast, and a score/soundtrack aficionado. She is a firm believer that Han shot first.