Disney has had a lot of success turning their animated classics into live-action updates in recent years. ‘Maleficent’ grossed more than $750 million worldwide after ‘Alice in the Wonderland’ made over $1 billion. Another, fleshier ‘Cinderella’ is on its way this spring, and after that you can also expect a human-y ‘Beauty and the Beast.’ That film is expected to go into production later this year, and will be directed by ‘Twilight’’s Bill Condon from a script by Stephen Chbosky.

But you can’t make a ‘Beauty and the Beast’ without a beauty (and also a beast), and Disney has just announced, via press release, that they’ve picked their Belle to fall for a still-TBD hunky dude in hairy makeup. Here’s the announcement:

Actress Emma Watson has been cast as Belle in Disney’s upcoming live-action interpretation of ‘Beauty and the Beast.’ The film is directed by Bill Condon and produced by Mandeville Films’ David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman. Production is anticipated to begin later this year.

Those are all the details for now, but it’s worth noting that Watson starred in Chbosky’s adaptation of his own novel, ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower,’ back in 2012, so she’s familiar with his work. (Also worth noting is that Watson turned down the title role in Disney's upcoming ‘Cinderella’ back in 2013.)

This team is shaping up nicely. Condon certainly knows how to make a teen-friendly romance between humans and weird creatures, Chbosky does sensitive adolescent dialogue better than just about anybody, and Watson is one of our most talented young stars. All they need now is a Beast. Who should they pick? Be our guest and tell us your favorites in the comments section below. (Get it? Because ‘Be Our Guest’? And the original movie with okay you know what, let’s just forget it.)

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