Bill Condon Will Direct Disney's Live-Action 'Beauty and the Beast'

With the success of films like Alice In Wonderland and Maleficent, Disney is sticking to live-action fairy tales. And their latest project has roped in an Oscar nominee to direct.

Bill Condon (Dreamgirls) has been hired to direct a live-action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast. While it's uncertain just yet if the movie will go the Maleficent route and adapt elements of its animated companion piece, or if it will be an entirely separate reimagining, remains to be seen. The 1991 animated Beauty and the Beast is among Disney's most iconic, beloved films, in addition to being one of its most critically and commercially successful. In 1992, it became the first animated movie to ever be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, and remains one of the few films to receive three nominations in the Best Original Song category (for "Belle", "Be Our Guest", and "Beauty and the Beast").

This live-action take on Beauty and the Beast will be written by Evan Spiliotopoulos, the man behind The Lion King 1 1/2, which was far better than an interquel of a beloved Disney movie probably had any right to be. So I'm cautiously optimistic about this. Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite movies in history, so I'm only hoping this is its own thing, since the original movie is a pretty daunting accomplishment to match, in my opinion. Still, I'm interested to see Condon and Disney try. Given the massive box office success of Maleficent, one could at least see why Disney might want to go for something like this.

Via: Entertainment Weekly

Credit: Disney