Ewan McGregor Joins Emma Watson In Live-Action ‘Beauty And The Beast’

Emma Watson has found her Lumiere in British hunk Ewan McGregor in the upcoming live-action remake of Disney’s animation classic “Beauty and the Beast.” To be directed by Bill Condon (“Dreamgirls”), the actor is currently in final negotiations to play role as Lumiere, the singing and the dancing candlestick, previously voiced by Jerry Orbach in the 1992 original film. “

“Lumiere is one of the movie’s major supporting roles, a suave maitre d’ who is turned into a candelabra by the curse that falls on the prince’s castle,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. “The character appears in a number of musical numbers and has a major solo in the "Be Our Guest" showstopper.”

Joining Emma Watson’s Belle and Dan Stevens’ Beast/Prince, McGregor is the final addition to the film’s ensemble cast which include Luke Evans as the villainous Gaston and Josh Gad as LeFue, Gaston’s buffoonish and loyal sidekick. Other cast members include veteran actor Ian McKellan (“The Hobbit”) as Cogworth, Audra McDonald as Garderobe, Gugu Mbatha-Raw (“Jupiter Ascending”) as Plumette and Emma Thompson (“Harry Potter”) as Mrs. Potts.

Written by Stephen Chbosky and new songs courtesy of Alan Menken and Tim Rice, the live-action “Beauty and the Beast” follows the success of Disney’s “Cinderella” and “Maleficent.” The movie is set to begin its production in May at Shepperton Studios in London.

Meanwhile, Josh Gad recently shared the first selfie of the “Beauty and the Beast” cast as he posted the happy snap on his Instagram account. The gleeful photo features the “Noah” star surrounded by her male co-stars, including Kevin Kline who is set to play Belle’s father Maurice.

The 75-year-old “Lord of the Rings” alum also posted his report on the film’s first table read on his Facebook page as the cast and crew gathered in the London studio. The actor reunited with Evans, whom he co-starred in the “The Hobbit” as Bard the Bowman. He was also happy to see Kevin Kline who he haven’t seen since they received their Tony Awards in 1981.

“Beauty and the Beast” is scheduled to premiere on March 17, 2017. The Disney remake is also set to feature “new recordings and new songs” in addition to the movie’s classic songs.

For questions/comments regarding the article, you may e-mail the writer at rornos.IBTimes@gmail.com.